No Rest for the Wicked
by Michelle Knight 1188
Summary: My story about what happens after the season finale as Sam and Bobby struggle to save Dean. SPOILER ALERT! Don't read if you haven't seen NRFTW because this builds off of that episode!
1. Chapter 1

**After watching the season finale and becoming soooo angry that they left us hanging all summer with that cliffhanger ending (can you believe it?!) I decided to write my idea of what happens next so that, in my mind, Dean won't be in Hell until the episodes start up again. So here it is, from where No Rest for the Wicked left off—**

The house was silent.

Dead silent.

Bobby Singer cursed under his breath, his heart racing as he tried once again to break down the door. It was held tight as though by some supernatural force—and he was willing to bet anything that force was Lilith.

He had heard the screams, and he didn't know which was worse—Dean's agonizing shrieks or Sam's horrified yells as he pleaded for her to stop.

Now the house was silent…and Bobby had a hard time believing that was a good sign.

As he prepared to try to break down the door for the hundredth time, it suddenly clicked and swung open a few inches by itself. Throwing caution to the wind, Bobby threw open the door and darted inside. The entire downstairs was pitch black, but he could see light coming from underneath one of the doors. He ran over to it and threw it open—

And stopped.

"Oh…my…God…" he whispered.

Sam was kneeling on the floor, holding Dean's bloody body to himself as he sobbed brokenly into his brother's shoulder. Bobby took a step into the room, his eyes never leaving the two boys who he thought of as his sons. Sam didn't even notice he was there.

Bobby stepped over Ruby's body and silently knelt next to them. Sam never even looked up, he just kept sobbing as though he was never going to stop.

"…Sam…" Bobby whispered, his voice cracking and he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sam…"

Sam slowly looked up at him with chocolate brown eyes bloodshot and red from crying. He looked up, but he didn't say a word. He didn't have to, really. Bobby already knew everything that was going through his mind.

"Sam…I'm…I'm so sorry…"

Sam violently shook his head, tightening his grip on his brother with one hand as he tried to wipe away the tears streaming down his cheeks with the other. "I-it's not your fault, Bobby. It's _not_ your fault, it's _n-not_ my fault…and it's…_definitely_…not D-dean's fault."

Bobby nodded. "I—I know that, son. I know."

"This isn't over, Bobby." Sam said, his voice getting stronger, "T-they haven't won. Not this time."

Bobby sighed and bit his lip. He had worried that this would happen. "Sam…you can't—"

"I'm n-not planning on selling my soul, if that's what you're going to say." Sam snapped, "I'm not doing that, Bobby. I'm _not_ playing into the demons' hands again on this sick carousel ride of soul selling that we Winchesters seem to do. _Never again_. That fixes nothing and causes…causes…" he broke off and another tear rolled down his cheek.

Bobby nodded, running a hand over his face. He was too old to be seeing this kind of pain all the time. "Then what—"

"Lilith got away."

"She did?"

"Yeah. She possessed Ruby and held me down and…and…and let the hellhounds…" Sam looked away. "This isn't over, Bobby."

"Sam—"

"Dean isn't staying in hell, not for an hour, not for a damn day. Not for me. I'm not worth that kind of pain." At that, Sam carefully laid his brother's body back on the ground. He paused for a second to run a hand through his hair and then looked back at Bobby, his eyes alert and determined. "We're fixing this."

"Sam…Dean's dead."

"Not for long he's not." Sam said firmly. He stood up, and with one last look at Dean he strode out into the hallway.

Bobby watched him go for a second and then jumped up to follow him. Sam went directly to the basement door and swung it open. The family was all sitting pressed up against a concrete wall, staring at the open door in terror. "It's okay." Sam said. "You're safe now."

"A-are they g-gone? Really?" the man choked out, clutching his wife and daughter to him.

"Yeah." Sam said softly. "They're gone."

"A-are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure." Sam snapped. He paused and then closed his eyes and sighed. "Look…I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're in this situation and I'm sorry I snapped at you…I—I just…"

They didn't say anything, and just continued to stare at him wide eyed.

Sam opened his eyes again. "I need you to do me a favor."

"W-what?" the man whispered.

Sam sighed. "When you come up here, you'll find a man bleeding on the floor in the dining room…he's…he's my brother…and he's dead." Sam took a deep breath and then continued, "I need you to drive to the nearest gas station and buy a huge supply of ice. Put him in the bathtub, fill it with the ice, turn the heat off in the room. I—I'm going to bring him back. I just need you to help me preserve his body until then."

There was a huge pause, and then the wife nodded. "…okay."

Sam nodded, and turned to leave. "Thank you…so much. I'll be back soon, I promise."

He turned and walked away. Bobby caught a hold of his arm. "Wait…" Sam shrugged it off and kept walking, so he grabbed his arm again, "Damn it, Sam, wait!"

Sam turned and looked at him. "What?"

"You—you can't just charge out there…you don't even have a plan!"

Sam shrugged. "Dean's in Hell, Bobby, we don't have time for a plan. I do have an idea, though."

"An idea?"

"That's gonna have to be good enough." Sam said, shrugging.

Bobby stepped back and studied his face. "Well…whatever you do…I'm with you. You're sure as hell not carrying out whatever crazy idea you've got by yourself."

Sam nodded and looked up at him, a mad gleam in his eye. "Let's go, Bobby. We've got work to do."

**So it begins…**

**Review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the reviews! Here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

The first thing Sam and Bobby realized when they reached the place they had left the cars was that they had a serious problem. "Damn it!" Bobby yelled angrily. "Where the hell's my truck?"

Sam stared at the empty space next to the Impala with a sinking feeling in his stomach. "This isn't happening…"

"Some of Lilith's demons must've escaped and taken it." Bobby said. "It's the only explanation."

"Yeah." Sam said bitterly, "Well that's just great. How are we supposed to track down Lilith now?"

Bobby glanced at him. "You were planning on using the device we used yesterday to track her, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was. Looks like that idea's been shot down, though, cause I'm guessing that was in your truck."

"Yep…along with all my other equipment."

"Damn it!" Sam shouted angrily. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Look, Sam, just calm down—"

"No, Bobby, I can't calm down, alright! Every second we waste is another second that Dean is suffering in Hell because of me! We need to find Lilith now, and we need to get him back!"

"Exactly, boy!" Bobby shouted back, grabbing hold of his shoulders, "And you flipping out isn't going to help the situation any! Dean needs you to have a cool head so that you can actually think instead of yelling every time something doesn't work!" he paused when he saw Sam's head drop and gave his shoulder a light squeeze. When he spoke again his voice was softer. "Look Sam. There are other ways out there to find Lilith. We're gonna find her."

Sam nodded and swallowed hard to try to get rid of the lump that had risen in his throat.

Bobby nodded and released Sam's shoulders. "Now…do you have a plan B?"

Sam ran a hand over his face, "No, not really. We need to think of something…is there any way to get another of those devices to track her down?"

Bobby shrugged. "Well yeah, but that depends on when you want it. It'll take at least a week for me to track one down and get ahold of it."

Sam shook his head. "Too long."

"Sam…"

"We need something faster, Bobby."

Bobby nodded. "Okay…okay." He paused, thinking. "Any ideas?"

Sam frowned and bit his lip.

"What?" Bobby demanded. "What are you thinking?"

"I was—" he paused and ran a hand through his hair before meeting Bobby's gaze. "Look, just listen for a second okay?"

"That good, huh?" Bobby said skeptically.

"A day ago…back at the house…I summoned Ruby."

"Yeah, I know. You stole her knife."

"Yeah." Sam said. "Well, when she was there…she…she suggested a way to save Dean."

Bobby's eyebrows raised. "Oh, yeah…this _is_ gonna be good."

Sam ignored him. "She said that I could save him…and that I have powers lying dormant inside of me. She said that…Lilith is frightened of me."

"Sam, demons lie—"

Sam shook his head. "I don't think she was lying, Bobby. Why would she lie to me?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe so that she could get you killed?"

"There's something else…" Sam said, looking away, "Something happened back in that house that I haven't told you, Bobby…something happened when her hellhounds were killing Dean."

Bobby's eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"I—I'm not sure what happened…actually."

"Sam, just spit it out."

Sam nodded. "There was…this golden light."

"What? What kind of light? Where did it come from?"

"I—I don't know what it was…"

"Well then why does it matter?"

"I think it came from me." Sam said quietly, looking away.

Bobby blinked in confusion. "What?"

Sam sighed. "I—I don't know, really. It's all a blur…one second the hellhounds were killing Dean, and I was screaming for her to stop…and the next…"

"What?" Bobby prompted.

"Next thing I know this golden glow filled the room…and when it was gone the hellhounds had left, and when I stood up Lilith looked…scared. She was scared of me, Bobby. She told me to stay away…but I could move again. She wasn't controlling me anymore...and then she escaped before I could stab her with the knife."

Bobby stood there for a moment, trying to digest all the information. "Why would she have run away? She's powerful…and I thought she wanted you dead."

Sam shook his head. "I don't know, that's the thing. She could have killed me if she'd wanted to, when I was pressed against the wall. It would have been easy."

Bobby let out his breath slowly. "Okay, let's think about this for a second. Are you _sure _that the light didn't come from Lilith?"

Sam shrugged. "It could have, I suppose…but then why was she so scared of me when it was gone?"

"Yeah…yeah I guess you're right." Bobby admitted reluctantly. "But even _if _the light came from you, what does that even mean? How does that help us save your brother?"

"If Lilith is scared enough of me to run away, maybe I can make her frightened enough that she'll bring back Dean."

"Whoa…wait just a second, Sam. You're not talking about purposely using your powers—"

"Yeah, I am." Sam said determinedly.

"Sam…let's be logical for a second. First of all, you have no idea how to use your powers, and secondly you haven't even had a vision since the demon died a year ago."

"Ruby said I could control them, they're just dormant right now."

"Right…and I'm guessing Dean didn't take too well to that plan?"

Sam shook his head. "No…but I'm thinking that we should have listened to her...maybe then Dean wouldn't have died."

"Sam, Ruby's a demon—"

"Yeah…she is." Sam said simply. "And I've got demon blood."

Bobby let out an exasperated sigh, "That's not the same thing, Sam."

"Maybe not…but maybe it's close enough." Sam said softly. "Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Of course I do, Sam…but damn it, I'm not going to let you lose yourself to find your brother."

"I won't, Bobby. I promise."

Bobby studied Sam hard and saw the determined glint in his eyes. "You're going to go through with this no matter what I say, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Bobby sighed wearily. "Fine. We'll do this your way."

"Thanks, Bobby."

"Don't thank me yet, I still don't agree with this idea…and if something better comes along we're damn sure doing that instead, alright?"

Sam nodded. "Sure."

Bobby wearily leaned against the Impala, and seconds later Sam joined him. Bobby cleared his throat. "We're summoning Ruby, aren't we? That's what you want to do now?"

"Yeah…I need her help so that I can unlock my powers. I don't know how to do it alone."

"I thought Lilith sent her somewhere?"

Sam nodded. "She did…but everything we need to carry out a summoning ritual should be in the Impala…what time is it?"

Bobby slowly looked at his watch. "1:23…"

Sam nodded. "Let's get started. We can just do it here, there's no time to drive somewhere else."

"Yeah." Bobby said. "Well…it's not often that we purposely summon demons for help."

"I know." Sam admitted as he unlocked the trunk and started looking for the needed materials. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

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	3. Chapter 3

Sam tried to ignore the warm rush of blood as it flowed from the slit he had made in his arm. He concentrated on the symbols he was drawing instead, working to make them as perfect as possible. Symbol after symbol appeared crimson red on the gritty pavement as Bobby stood beside him silently reading through John's journal entry.

"It should work, right?" Sam questioned.

Bobby sighed. Truthfully? This whole situation was messed up and insane, and there was no way that he should even agree to let Sam try the ritual that was needed to summon Ruby from wherever the hell she had been sent. Truthfully? They should find another way to get Dean back than flirting with death themselves. Truthfully? He wanted to knock Sam out, throw him into the Impala, and…do what? There really was no other option. That in itself was the sad truth.

Sam looked up impatiently, still waiting for Bobby's response. "Bobby? Will it work?"

Bobby paused, but in the end he knew what his answer would be. "Yes. It'll work."

"Good." Sam said, turning back to his work to complete the last few symbols.

"But it's risky. The chances of us summoning only Ruby are slim to none, some other demons are bound to slip through."

"Well, we still have the knife, so we can send them right back if we have to…besides, it can't be nearly as bad as when we opened the Devil's Gate last year."

"Yeah…" Bobby admitted reluctantly. "But I still don't like this."

Sam nodded. "I know…I don't either. But we don't have a choice." He finished the last symbol and then sat back to analyze his work. "Is it right?"

Bobby looked down at what Sam had drawn. "Yes it is." He said simply.

"Good." Sam said, standing up. "Let's do this."

Bobby nodded and handed Sam the book. Sam paused for only a second and then turned to his friend. "Have you…ever actually _tried_ this particular summoning ritual before?"

"Nope."

"Me either." Sam admitted.

"Well…" Bobby said, "I'm glad we can share in this joyous experience."

Sam smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah…you ready?"

Bobby nodded, tightening his grip on the knife in his hands.

Sam turned back around and began to read the Latin words printed on the page. He started off softly but as he continued reading his voice got louder and more confident until he reached the end and—

Nothing happened.

Sam snapped the journal shut softly, looking around guardedly for any movement. "Well…that was anti-climactic…"

"Wait for it…" Bobby whispered.

They stood perfectly still, barely daring to breathe, waiting as the seconds ticked by…

Suddenly, the ground started trembling beneath their feet, causing little pebbles to slide across the road. As more time went by the motion became more violent, making it hard to remain standing.

"Something—tells me—that this—was a really bad—idea." Bobby shouted over the rumbling noise as he and Sam fought to remain standing.

Sam kept his eyes locked on the circle of symbols and watched as they started glowing red. "The circle! Bobby, watch the circle!"

All of the sudden, the shaking stopped abruptly and the symbols faded back to their usual state.

"That can't be good—"

Flames suddenly broke through the circle, shooting straight up hundreds of feet into the sky.

Bobby and Sam jumped back and stared as the flames twisted and churned, reaching miles up into the clouds above.

The ground began pulsating angrily, throwing Sam and Bobby like rag dolls to the pavement where they remained, helplessly peering up at the flames. Then, in a moment, the flaming pillar shot back down into the hole and vanished completely, leaving a dense cloud of ash and smoke in its wake.

Coughing heavily, Sam and Bobby slowly climbed to their feet.

"D-did—it w-work—" Sam coughed, trying to peer through the ash and make some sense out of what had happened.

"Why, hello boys." A voice said in a falsely cheery tone, "Miss me already?"

Sam peered through the smoke. "W-whose there?"

"You know, I always thought you were stupid, Sam, but the stunt you just pulled takes the freakin' cake."

"Ruby?" Sam asked, still unable to see anything.

"Do you have _any idea _how dangerous that little ritual is? Hmm? Honestly, do you even think? Ever?"

"Yep, it's Ruby." Bobby confirmed.

"Yeah, and you're lucky it's just me and not a hundred other blood thirsty demons." Ruby ranted, "You know what, Sam? Do me a favor, and the next time you think you have a brilliant idea, just go shoot yourself in the head cause that's about how great the idea's gonna turn out."

"A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed…" Sam muttered.

"I don't have to thank you!" Ruby spat, "You left me in that damn trap back at the house, completely vulnerable to—"

"Alright, that's enough!" Bobby shouted. "Listen, sweetheart, we don't have time for your damn sarcastic wit right now, alright? Save it for someone who cares."

Ruby stopped, and even though Sam couldn't see her yet through the smoke, he could picture the look on her face at that moment, glaring eyes, mouth hanging open in shock and anger. Oh, it was good.

"Fine then." Ruby said dangerously after a long pause, "I'll just leave."

"Wait…please." Sam said quickly. "I—I need your help."

"Damn right you do." Ruby said simply. "I've known that all along, Sam…I've only been waiting forever for you to actually get that into your thick head."

"Yeah…well…you're not exactly the easiest person to trust."

"Yeah…well…_get over it_." Ruby spat mockingly. "It's not like you trust very many people, anyway. Face it, Sam, besides Dean, Bobby, and a few other losers that you know I'm the closest thing to a friend you've got."

Sam shook his head, exasperated, and peered through the smoke. The smoke had mostly cleared, and he could faintly make out her shape. She had gone back into her old body, which was slightly battered and bruised but apparently still in working condition. "How did you—"

"How did I what?" she interrupted, "Get back into my usual body and come over here before you two idiots were even standing?"

"Do you ever just _shut-up_?" Bobby groaned.

Ruby shot him another death glare.

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Can we all just stop fighting for a moment?" he said, annoyed. When no one responded he turned back to Ruby, "Look, are you gonna help us or not? Cause if you're just here to chat you're wasting my time."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you want me to help you use your powers."

"Yes."

She sighed. "I don't know why I should bother...you don't listen to me half the time anyway."

"Well, I'm listening now." Sam said, stepping toward her. "Please…help me get my brother back."

She looked up at his desperate face and shrugged. "What the hell, I'm always up for a challenge."

"And no tricks, either…" Bobby said accusingly.

"Hey, I'm a girl of my word!" Ruby replied angrily. "I _never_ lied to Sam—"

"Guys!" Sam yelled loudly. "Damn it, how many times do I have to say it? _We don't have time for this_! Just…just get along! I'm not asking you to be best friends, but just tolerate each other, alright?"

Bobby paused for a moment, glaring at her. "Fine." He growled.

"Fine." She quipped, crossing her arms.

"Good." Sam said. "Now Ruby, how do I do this?"

She turned slightly and stared him in the eyes. "How far are you willing to go?"

Sam didn't even flinch, and matched her stare with equal intensity. "As far as it takes to get Dean back."

"Now Sam—" Bobby protested.

"Not now, Bobby." Sam said, "Please…I have to do this."

Bobby ground his teeth together but remained quiet.

"Good." Ruby said. "That's what I needed to hear." She looked over at Bobby. "Go away."

"What? I'm not leaving—"

"Then I'm not helping." She said firmly. "You'll just keep interrupting me and I don't need any interruptions. Get in the Impala and drive somewhere miles away and park it alongside the road. Sam will call you when we're done."

Sam looked up at Bobby and gave him a small smile. "Go ahead…I'll be fine."

"I don't like this." Bobby muttered, but took the keys from Sam. "Call me the second something goes wrong."

"Nothing's going to go wrong." Sam said reassuringly. "I'll call you soon."

Bobby sighed and got into the Impala. He drove away.

Sam watched as the car disappeared into the distance and then looked back at Ruby. "What do I have to do?"

Ruby shrugged slightly. "You already have the basic idea...how have you used your powers before?"

Sam thought for a moment. "Well…the visions—"

"Forget about the visions Sammy boy, we've moved on to bigger and better things." Ruby interrupted briskly, "Visions are child's play…how else have you used your powers?"

Sam bit his lip. "When Dean was in trouble—"

"Bingo." She said simply, looking up at him. "When Dean was in trouble…that's the answer I wanted."

"How does that help us? Other people I've cared about have been in trouble, and I never pulled some amazing feat and saved them."

"Who's your best friend, Sam?" She questioned.

Sam looked away. "Dean."

"Who's looked after you for as long as you can remember?"

"Dean."

"Who would do _anything_ for you?"

Sam sighed. "Dean." He admitted, realizing what she was getting at, "But Jess died in front of me and—"

"Who's your best friend, Sam? Really? Your brother or Jess?"

Sam ran a hand over his face. "Dean."

"Yeah." She said. "Dean. Your brother. Your best friend. Your greatest weakness. The person that can be a total dick but still somehow make you laugh seconds later…the person that you have 

looked up to your entire life…the _only _person that knows you just as well as you know him: inside and out. You boys are ridiculously inseparable, and if I didn't know better I'd say you were two halves of the same freakin' soul. So don't _even_ bring Jess into this. Sure, you loved her, but she never held a candle to the relationship between you and your brother. You two care about each other so much it actually makes me sick."

Sam let out a little smile. "Glad to hear it…"

"Shut-up." Ruby snipped. "I'm not done."

"Course not…"

"Dean's in Hell, Sam."

Her words felt like a punch to the stomach. "Yeah." He whispered.

"Dean. Is. In. Hell." She repeated, punctuating every word.

"I know." Sam ground out.

"Do you, Sam? Do you really know?"

"Yes! Of course I do!" Sam snapped.

"No, I don't think you do. I think you've blocked the entire concept from your mind because you just can't handle the thought of Dean suffering in Hell. Do you know what happens in Hell, Sammy?"

"Don't call me that."

Ruby ignored him. "Everything you've heard about the horrors of Hell from story books and movies? That's nothing, Sam. _Nothing_."

"Stop it!"

"I can't even begin to describe the terror and utter despair in hell. Descriptions can't begin to do the horror down there justice."

"Ruby…stop." Sam moaned.

"I want you to do something for me, Sam. Imagine eternity. Really think about it. Eternity. _Forever._ Never ending."

Sam looked up at her. "Why?"

"Now imagine Hell. Oh wait, you can't, you've never actually been there, have you? Well guess what, I have, Sam…I know what it's like. So take what you think Hell is and then imagine that a billion or so times worse. Are you with me so far?"

"Ruby—"

"Now put it all together and imagine Dean being in Hell, _forever_, experiencing mental and physical torment that never ends and only gets worse with every passing day. In Hell, every second of agony feels like a hundred-thousand years, and right now Dean is experiencing pain beyond anything he's ever felt before, and he's screaming and screaming for it to stop—but it won't. It'll keep right on slicing straight into his soul until he doesn't even know who or what he is anymore."

"_Shut-up!_" Sam yelled.

"Dean's in Hell, Sam. He's suffering in Hell right now, and if you listen closely I'll bet you can hear him shrieking in agony—"

"Ruby, _please_!"

"Because of you."

Sam was sobbing by this point. "_Noo…_"

"Yes, Sam! Because of you! Because you're weak and pathetic! Dean's always protected you, but the second the tables were turned you failed! You didn't save him, and he's in Hell because of you!"

"NO!"

"Yes!" she shouted back, laughing, "And you're worried about saving him before the week's up? He's already been there for _hours _Sam, and in Hell that's like a hundred lifetimes! The chances of there being anything left of the Dean you knew and loved—"

"Stop it!!"

"—to save is slim to none!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!!" Sam shrieked, his face a twisted mask of anger and grief. He took a step forward to shove Ruby but before he could touch her a splitting pain erupted in his head and she went flying backwards into a tree.

**Please leave a Review! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter. I'd like to thank everyone that's read and reviewed so far, you all keep me motivated to update often! Enjoy.**

"_SHUT THE HELL UP!!" Sam shrieked, his face a twisted mask of anger and grief. He took a step forward to shove Ruby but before he could touch her a splitting pain erupted in his head and she went flying backwards into a tree. _

Sam gasped, but before he could think about what had just happened the pain intensified, twisting and stabbing through his entire body like nothing he had ever experienced before. He cried out in agony and fell to his knees.

Ruby stood up from where she had been thrown and brushed off her hands and knees. "Ouch. That almost hurt."

Sam could hear her voice somewhere in the back of his mind, but the pain was so intense that he couldn't hear or see. He couldn't even scream.

Wincing in pain, Ruby walked over to where Sam was writhing in agony on the pavement. "Sam?" He didn't even acknowledge her presence. She knelt beside him, but didn't touch him. "Sam…I know you can hear me…I want you to listen to me, okay?" she paused for a moment and then continued, "I know it hurts—but just think of it as like having a vision…" she stopped, thinking, "No, it's probably worse than a vision, isn't it? This probably hurts like all your visions combined."

Sam let out a whimper.

Ruby sighed. "Well, I have some bad news and some good news. The good news is that your powers are now unlocked…they're triggered by your emotions, which is why I provoked you. I'm sorry, but it was the only way to do it, I had to tear down the walls you'd put up and show you exactly how serious Dean being in Hell really is to get you to react." She paused and looked away. "The bad news is that…well…now that your powers are unlocked, you can never go back to how you were before. But you can make the migraine go away, alright? Listen, the only reason you got headaches when you had your visions was because you fought _not_ to have them, and that's the only reason your head is pounding and throbbing right now. Your body is fighting against your abilities, Sam, and what I need you to do is _stop fighting it_. Just give in to it, and let it take over."

Breathing hard, Sam managed to open his eyes and look at her.

"Don't look at me like that." Ruby said, "_You_ wanted this…and I know you're scared, but suck it up. Dean needs you, and this is the only way that you can help him. So take a deep breath and accept your abilities. They've always been a part of you, Sam. Just let them come to the surface."

Sam nodded and shut his eyes, trying to breathe evenly. He was scared. He had always tried to be normal—well, as normal as possible, considering what his life was like. He was afraid of what he might become if he let his abilities surface, and he knew that if Dean was still alive he would have been screaming at him not to do this, that there had to be another way. But Dean was in Hell—and he had to get him out, no matter what the cost. There _was_ no other way.

Keeping that thought locked in his mind, Sam took a deep breath and let go, giving in to the power that was flowing through his body.

Ruby studied Sam's contorted face, waiting for some indication that he had done as she asked. Suddenly, she heard the low rumble of a car approaching. "Damn it…" she whispered angrily.

Seconds later the Impala came to a screeching halt beside them and Bobby Singer jumped out, gun in hand. He saw Sam on the ground and instantly turned the gun on Ruby, "I knew you were up to no good! What did you do to Sam?!"

"Seriously?" Ruby demanded crossly, rolling her eyes, "Are you always this damn clueless? I have two things to say to you, old man. First of all, Sam's fine, and secondly, the only thing that gun can do to me is ruin my shirt. Do you know how many shirts I've had to throw out because of you worthless hunters?"

Bobby stepped forward menacingly, pushing her out of his way as he knelt next to Sam. He put a hand on his shoulder and gasped. "Oh my God…" he pulled his hand back, "He's burning up."

Ruby sighed loudly and placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah…whatever. He'll be fine in a minute, stop being a freakin' mother hen."

Bobby pulled out the knife and turned on her. "What did you do to him?"

Ruby shrugged. "Nothing. We had a friendly chat and he got all worked-up about Dean being in Hell. How is that my fault? If anything, you should take little Sammy to some anger therapy sessions or something—"

Bobby angrily grabbed a fistful of her shirt and threw her against the car as he placed the knife against her throat. "I'm only going to ask you _one more time_," he hissed, "What did you do to Sam?"

Ruby stared at him for a moment and then gave a little grin, "I hope you didn't just dent the Impala…cause if Dean ever gets out of Hell he's gonna be pissed—"

Bobby angrily threw her against the ground. "Wrong answer." He growled.

Ruby gritted her teeth and leapt to her feet, ready to fight—

"Would you two just give it a rest, already?" Sam groaned, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position.

Bobby froze. "Sam?"

Sam winced, running a hand over his face, "Yeah, Bobby."

"Oh thank God." Bobby said, relieved. He took one last look at Ruby and then quickly darted to Sam's side. "What happened? Are you alright?"

Sam took in a deep breath, feeling the oxygen flow through his lungs. "I—yeah." He muttered.

Bobby's eyes narrowed in concern. "Yeah? Yeah what?"

Sam blinked his eyes hard like he was trying to clear his head. "I'm fine." He said simply, and stood up.

Bobby blinked, and then looked hard at his face. "Sam? What's wrong?"

Sam shook his head, looking around dazedly. "Nothing's wrong. I—I'm fine."

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Sam critically. "Is the pain gone?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"Did you do what I told you?"

"Yeah."

"Good." Ruby said simply. "Now see if you can sense where Lilith is."

"Whoa, wait just a second now!" Bobby interrupted. "Sam—what is she talking about? What did she tell you to do?"

Sam looked at Bobby. His head felt like it was spinning uncontrollably and he was having a hard time focusing. "I—I stopped fighting against my powers."

Bobby groaned. "Sam…" he reached out and put both hands on Sam's shoulders, forcing the boy to look at him. He studied his eyes. They were the same dark brown puppy-dog eyes that he'd always known…but they looked unfocused. Disconnected. "How do you feel?" he asked simply.

Sam shrugged. "I feel…different."

"Different?" Bobby repeated. "What do you mean?"

Sam paused, thinking. "I don't know, really. Just…different somehow."

"That's nice, Sam." Ruby broke in. "Now if you two are done with your sharing session, we really need to get moving. Dean is in hell, and time is of the essence."

"Yeah." Sam said. "Let's do this."

Bobby opened his mouth to say something but Ruby cut him off, "Where's Lilith, Sam?"

"She's in an abandoned building in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania." Sam said. His eyes widened and he looked over at Ruby, "How did I know—"

"Huh. Imagine that, a small town that no one's ever heard of. Yeah, Sam, I'd say you scared her pretty good back in the house, cause I'd bet anything that she's hiding from you until she can gather more followers." Ruby said.

"She's hiding from Sam?" Bobby said skeptically, "Why would she do that?"

"Because she knows." Ruby said, a smile on her lips.

"Knows what?"

"Knows that her powers don't stand a chance against his."

Bobby glared at her, "So what? Sam doesn't have any idea about how to begin using his powers and Lilith's been using hers for years, so he's at a definite disadvantage if they fight. Plus she's got a group of demons following her around!"

"That's just a minor setback—"

"We're in trouble…" Sam muttered.

Bobby looked over at him. Sam was standing there with his eyes shut tight and a blank look on his face. "Sam?"

"What is it?" Ruby asked. "What do you see?"

"She's taken over the whole town…" Sam said softly. "There are demons everywhere…"

"Damn it…" Ruby muttered. "We need to work fast."

"What?" Bobby demanded. "Did you hear what he said? She took over the town! We can't just rush over without a plan—"

"I can see her…" Sam murmured, his eyes shut tight, "I see Lilith. She's planning something with some of the other demons…"

Bobby looked concernedly over at him. "Sam?" he said gently.

"Half of the town is in flames…" Sam muttered blankly. "All the people are either dead or possessed…"

"Sam, snap out of it." Bobby said louder.

"She's building up an army. An army of demons…"

"Damn it, Sam, look at me!" Bobby yelled. He reached out and grabbed onto Sam's arm.

Sam's eyes shot open—they were black.

Before he could speak Bobby felt a strong force slam him backwards onto the ground. He yelled out in surprise, but as the force was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Oh God…" Sam gasped, breathing heavily, "Oh my God, Bobby, I'm so sorry!"

Bobby opened his eyes and winced. He looked up at Sam, who was standing over him with a terrified look on his face. His eyes were back to normal.

"I—I didn't mean to—" Sam continued, his voice panicked, "I don't know what happened! I—I didn't—"

Bobby swallowed hard. He was scared—for a moment, Sam hadn't _been _Sam. Not his Sam, anyway, his Sam wouldn't hurt a fly, and he certainly wouldn't hurt anyone he cared about. As he stared at Sam's horrified face Bobby knew that he had two choices: he could take Dean's route and pretend that nothing was wrong, or he could discuss what had happened and only make Sam more upset in the process. '_Maybe Dean did know what he was doing after all…' _he thought dryly, and looked back at Sam, "It's okay, Sam." he said reassuringly. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and reached out a hand to Sam. "I'm fine, it was just an accident. Help me up."

Sam stared at Bobby's outstretched hand took a step back, "No, I don't—I don't want to hurt you."

Bobby sighed. "Would you just help me up, boy? We don't have all day."

Sam paused for a moment and then hesitantly stepped forward and helped Bobby to his feet.

"We need to get going." Ruby said briskly, ignoring what had just happened. "The sooner we get to Lilith's hideout the better chance we'll have of defeating her." She walked over to the Impala and got into the back, slamming the door shut behind her.

Bobby sighed, studying Sam. The kid looked scared to death. "Sam…it's going to be okay."

"Is it?" Sam questioned, looking up at him. "I'm losing myself Bobby…"

"No you're not—"

"Yes, I am, I can feel it…" he said sadly, "And I can't stop it, I can't fight against it, because I need my powers to get Dean back."

Bobby ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Damn it, Sam…this whole thing is spinning out of control."

Sam winced and then looked up at Bobby, tears welling up in his eyes. "I know…Dean used to say that too."

Bobby looked away, realizing that he had just made things worse.

Sam sighed. "I wish Dean was here…" he whispered. "I—I'm so scared, Bobby…of what's happening to me…I just wish that Dean was here to crack off some idiotic joke and pretend everything's okay."

"Me too, Sam…" Bobby agreed sadly, "Me too…"

Ruby groaned and opened the car door, "Would you two just give it a rest, already? Seriously, it's like a freakin' soap opera. You know what? I actually wish Dean was here, too—that way he could make you two idiots act more like men than hormonal teenage girls! I mean _honestly_—"

Sam and Bobby rolled their eyes and started walking towards the Impala. "Shut-up, Ruby!" they chorused.

"Just get in the damn car." Ruby snapped, slamming the door again.

Sam opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. He paused. It felt—wrong. Dean was supposed to be driving, Dean always drove. He stared down at wheel, thoughts of all the times he and Dean had ridden in this car together. So many memories…

"It's called a _steering wheel_," Ruby interrupted loudly, "You _steer_ with it. But first you have to turn the _key_ in the _ignition_—now Sam, I know driving is difficult, but can we try to get moving sometime this year? Please?"

Sam turned his head slightly to glare at Ruby, and she flashed him a fake smile. He looked over at Bobby, who nodded reassuringly. Sam reached out his hand and turned the key in the ignition, and the car roared to life. He went to move it out of park but stopped and reached down for something between the seats instead.

Ruby groaned loudly, "Now what?"

Sam ignored her and continued searching until his hand closed around one of the small plastic tapes. He pulled it out, looked at the label, and grinned.

Seconds later, they were flying down the road with Metallica blaring out of the speakers.

Ruby scowled. "What the hell is this crap?" she shouted over the noise.

Sam just grinned, "Quality music, Ruby…you should really learn to appreciate the classics." He pressed his foot down on the gas pedal and the Impala accelerated down the dark road towards Lilith.

**Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Several long hours of driving later, Bobby Singer was trying hard not to panic. He had observed several telltale signs that Sam was…well…_different_. First of all, the music was still blaring, which showed that he definitely wasn't in his right mind. Secondly he hadn't said a single word since they had started driving, but that might have been because Ruby was in the car. She wasn't exactly a bright ray of sunshine when it came to conversations. By themselves, these two things weren't exactly anything to worry about, and they could have been excused as a way of Sam dealing with his brother's death. However, there was a third problem that screamed something was amiss.

The main problem was that Sam was driving _with his eyes closed_, zipping in and out of gaps that the Impala shouldn't have fit into, plowing right through red lights, creating his own 'shortcuts,' and making all kinds of impossible maneuvers without hesitation.

It was terrifying.

And there was no stopping it. Bobby knew that if he talked to Sam he might suddenly lose all concentration—and then they would most certainly die. He was just glad it was night time, because if this little adventure had taken place during rush hour things would have been a lot worse.

He felt like he was the only sane person in the car. An hour ago he had turned to Ruby for help, but she had just smiled at him and laughed at his distress—which pissed him off to no end.

Sam suddenly pulled into another intersection—right into the path of a huge tractor-trailer.

Bobby gasped, his heart pounding—there was no escape this time—his eyes watched with horror as the truck careened right at them—a horn blared—

And the Impala passed_ right through the truck_ and flew down the road as if nothing had happened.

Bobby sat there with his mouth hanging open and his knuckles white from clutching the seat. "We…we just…"

"We just went through that truck." Ruby finished sweetly, "Isn't this exciting?"

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Bobby choked, feeling his stomach churning.

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "Are you upset about something?"

"Am I upset?" Bobby shouted, "Am I upset? Do you really have to ask?"

"Oh be quiet, you'll disturb Sam." Ruby replied, looking back out her window.

Bobby glared at her for a few seconds and then turned back around in his seat. He looked at the clock—it was 6:09 in the morning. As Sam swerved around another car Bobby sighed in defeat and then leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes, guessing that it was best not to see the impending doom.

The car continued swerving and speeding along for several more miles before it came to a screeching halt.

Bobby's eyes snapped open and he looked around. They were sitting in the middle of the road, headlights dimly illuminating a sign that said 'Welcome to Perryopolis' in faded blue letters.

Suddenly the music, which had been blaring ever since they had got in the car, stopped abruptly. Bobby turned and saw that Sam had ejected the tape and was staring around, completely bewildered.

"What? No more music?" Ruby said sarcastically, "Too bad…it was almost growing on me…"

"What…what's going on?" Sam asked, his voice sounding small and frightened.

"We're here." Ruby said. "Perryopolis. We made excellent timing."

Bobby glared at her and turned back to Sam, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Sam concentrated. "I—I don't know. It's all a blur. Uh…I remember getting in the car and turning on the music. I drove for a little while…but…what time is it?"

Bobby glanced at his watch. "Almost 7:00."

"What?!" Sam gasped. "No…no, that can't be right. We just started driving!"

"Sam…" Bobby said carefully, "You drove for hours."

Sam's mouth dropped open, aghast, "But…but I don't remember any of it!"

"That's probably for the best…" Ruby muttered.

"What? What do you mean?" Sam asked worriedly.

Bobby shook his head. "Nothing. It's nothing to worry about, Sam. You just used your powers again…to drive. But we're here now, and we're fine—"

"What do you mean I used my powers to drive? How is that possible?"

"It was nothing, really," Bobby rambled, "You just…drove…really fast…with your eyes shut…through…trucks…"

"_What?!"_

"Sam, it doesn't matter, okay?" Ruby interrupted. "We're here, we made great timing, and Lilith won't expect us to find her this soon, so we have an advantage, alright?"

"But—"

"No buts, Sam. Let's worry about the task at hand. We're here to kill Lilith and all the demons that stand in our way. Nothing else."

Sam opened his mouth to say something else but then shut it and nodded. He opened his door and got out of the car, and the others followed suit.

"So..." Bobby said, "Do we have a plan?"

Ruby nodded. "Sam does."

"I do?" Sam said, confused.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yes, you do."

They were all silent for a few seconds and then Sam looked up, "This plan…involves my powers, doesn't it?" he said hesitantly.

"Ding ding ding! Give the boy a prize!" Ruby said, clapping Sam on the shoulder.

Sam winced. He looked up at Bobby, his eyes full of fear.

"It's okay, Sam." Bobby said comfortingly. "You don't have to do anything big yet...just try to find out exactly where she is…like before."

"Right…" Sam said, relieved. That couldn't be too hard, right? He shut his eyes, concentrating on finding Lilith. Images instantly flashed in front of his eyes: people screaming, blood, flaming buildings. A woman sobbed uncontrollably as she ran from a shadowy figure…a little girl cried under her bed as a demon snuck into her room with a knife. It was overwhelming…so much blood, so much pain. Sam felt horrified, but at the same time… No! He pulled back and focused again. Lilith. He had to find Lilith. He could sense her—she was there—

"She's in the high school…" he whispered. He could faintly hear Bobby saying something beside him, but he ignored him and focused deeper, searching—searching—

There. It was her. She had a different body, but he knew it was her—he could sense it. She was standing next to a window, staring out at the flaming chaos with satisfaction. Suddenly she turned and looked right at him. Sam felt rage burning up inside of him at the sight of her. He was furious—this was the demon that held Dean's contract, this was the demon that had sent his brother to Hell. His rage twisted and grew with each passing second—

"Sam." She said, her eyes narrowing, "What a nice surprise…"

"_Lilith_…"

**Miles away from the high school, outside of town…**

"Where did he go?" Bobby said, panicked. "He was just here. How could he just disappear like that?"

Ruby shook her head and jumped into the driver's seat of the Impala. "He's gone after Lilith…"

"What?!" Bobby shouted. "Alone?!"

"Get in the car." Ruby demanded. She turned the key in the ignition and the Impala roared to life. Bobby opened the passenger side door and climbed inside. "Why would he go after her by himself? He knows how dangerous that is!"

Ruby pressed her foot down on the gas pedal and the car took off down the road. "No, he doesn't. Not anymore."

**Sorry this chapter's so short, but I had to set up Sam and Lilith's fight…which begins in the next chapter. :)**

**Please Review! **


	6. Chapter 6

Sam glared at Lilith, his eyes reflecting the hatred that he had buried deep in his soul since Dean had been ripped away from him. Looking at her, it was hard to imagine just how evil she was. She had possessed the body of a young woman with golden-brown hair and dark brown eyes, and corruption stared at him through innocence.

Lilith leaned back against the windowsill, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Did you just come here to look at me? I'm flattered…"

"You killed my brother." Sam said flatly, his voice void of all emotion.

Lilith shook her head. "No, Sam. I merely carried out his wishes. After all, he did trade his soul for your life."

"Dean didn't want to go to Hell."

Lilith's smile widened. "Well, he should have thought about that before he made the deal, shouldn't he?" she paused, "You can blame me all you want, Sam, but this isn't my fault."

"Yes it is."

Her eyebrows shot upwards and she eyed him critically. "How do you figure that? Let's start at the beginning, shall we? When you died a year ago, Jake killed you. I didn't have anything to do with that."

Sam stepped forward, "Yes you did."

"Sam…did you ever stop and think that maybe humans make their own choices every now and then? Jake _chose_ to kill you, we didn't plant the idea in his mind or anything. If it's any consolation, at the time most of us really wanted you to win."

"But I didn't win."

She nodded, and then added mockingly, "Yeah, because, oh no, if I kill someone, I might—like—go darkside, and then I—I—I—"

"Shut-up." Sam said darkly.

Lilith's eyes sparkled. "Oh…did I strike a nerve? I'm so sorry…but you see, it's really not my fault that Dean's in Hell. He came to the crossroads, _willingly_, and made the deal of his own free will. No one twisted his arm to make him seal the deal. He could have just walked away."

Sam exhaled slowly, trying to think of something to say to that.

Lilith nodded, encouraged by his lack of response. "You know it's true, Sam. This whole mess is all Dean's fault."

Sam's head snapped up. "No."

She smiled and took a step toward him. "But enough about Dean, let's talk about you, Sammy…"

"Don't call me that."

"You," she continued, ignoring him, "Are different than the last time we met." She walked around him, studying him like she was looking for something.

Sam gritted his teeth. "Get away from me."

Lilith laughed. "Still as hostile as ever, I see…"

"You _killed_ my _brother_…"

"Yes, we've been over that already." She replied dismissively, still studying him, "You know…I'm impressed…I honestly never expected you to embrace your powers."

Sam stared at her impassively. "You thought wrong."

"I can see that…" she said softly, "And I'm usually such an excellent judge of character…but you, Sam Winchester, I just can't seem to figure out."

Sam just glared at her coldly and didn't say a word.

She stopped directly in front of him and looked up into his eyes, "I thought that you were a lost cause…that the other demons were wasting their time waiting for you to lead them…but here you stand in front of me. Ready to kill."

"Yeah." Sam said, "Ready to kill _you_."

Lilith grinned and shook her head, looking like an innocent child. "Oh Sam…you just don't get it, do you?" she said playfully, "There's a thin line between good and evil…and you can't be both. It's time for you to decide where you stand."

"Bring Dean back." Sam demanded.

Lilith stepped closer until they were inches apart. "No." she whispered. "I won't."

Sam stared back at her unflinchingly, "I already know where I stand—with Dean. And if you won't bring him back now, _I'll make you_." He promised coldly. "I'm not leaving here without him."

Lilith shook her head, "It's your funeral."

"No." Sam said simply, "It's yours."

For a long moment they both stared at each other, waiting.

They both reacted at the same time, but Lilith was faster, and Sam was thrown backwards against the wall. Lilith glared at him angrily, watching him struggle, "You dare to fight me?" she shouted. "Me?! All the other demons cower before me, and you—you're not even a real demon, Sam! How can you even hope to defeat me?"

Sam just laughed bitterly, "You know, you would sound a whole lot more convincing if your eyes weren't full of fear."

"You wish." Lilith spat, walking towards him. "Let's see how you do with no air, Sammy boy…"

As Sam hung there on the wall, he suddenly felt his windpipe closing—she was choking him. He struggled, trying hard to free himself from her invisible hold, but he was trapped.

"Goodbye Sam. It's been a blast."

Sam fought to breathe, but he couldn't. The world was spinning and darkening around him, and sound dropped away until he couldn't hear anything but the beating of his own heart. He was going to die. Right now. And Dean…Dean—

_No_.

Sam pushed harder against his invisible bonds, blinking hard to clear his sight. He wasn't going to give up—Dean deserved more.

"Why won't you just die?" Lilith cried angrily. She concentrated harder and cuts started appearing all over Sam's body, angry red slits that dripped crimson tears down onto the floor.

Sam felt the pain, but it didn't fully register in his mind as he fought to free himself. His eyes locked on Lilith's and he felt rage erupt inside of him again. He couldn't let her win—

_I'm holding back._ Sam realized. _I'm holding back, and she's winning._

His mind was dimming again, and he knew that he couldn't last much longer without oxygen. _I'm sorry, Dean._ _I can't let her win. I told you that I was going to save you no matter what—and this is the no matter what. I hope you understand._

Sam Winchester closed his eyes and let go. He let go of all his fear, let go of himself.

Then—

He screamed. The sound was backed by all of the pain, anger, and hurt he had suffered throughout his young life. All of the windows in the building shattered into millions of shards that flew through the air.

Lilith cried out as glass shards embedded themselves into her flesh. She tightened her hold on Sam, but something had changed. She looked up at him and froze—black eyes stared down at her.

Before she could think of what to do she was thrown across the room like a rag doll. With a cry of surprise she crashed into students' metal desks and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Oh yes," Sam said, massaging his throat, "That's much better."

Lilith painfully climbed to her feet and looked at Sam in surprise. He was standing by the wall, staring at her, a strange smile on his face.

"Who are you?" she demanded shakily.

"Why, Lilith, don't you recognize me?" he said playfully, tilting his head to one side as he studied her, "I'm little Sammy Winchester…"

"Stay away from me." Lilith hissed.

His smile widened. "Oh no." he said coldly, "It's far too late for that."

Lilith grabbed onto one of the desks and hurled it forcefully at Sam, but before it could hit him he flung out his arm and deflected it so that it hit the wall instead, leaving a huge dent. He looked at her and raised his eyebrows, "Now that wasn't very nice, was it?"

"It wasn't supposed to be." She said simply, pushing a few loose strands of hair out of her eyes.

Sam shook his head, "And here I thought we were going to be friends…"

Lilith laughed bitterly, "You just want to kill me."

Sam shrugged, "Yeah, well, basically everyone I've ever been friends with is dead." He said matter-of-factly as he walked toward her, "So I'm rather used to short relationships…do you want to grab a cup of coffee or something before I kill you?"

Lilith glared at Sam and then glanced at the door. "I don't date jerks." She scoffed, and then without another word she bolted toward the door.

Sam grinned and then waved his arm again. Lilith flew sideways into another wall. "Going somewhere, darling?" he said sweetly, "But we're just getting started."

"Screw you!" she shouted angrily.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Lilith gritted her teeth and pushed out with everything she had. Sam was thrown back forcefully and landed in a heap on the other side of the room. As soon as he hit the ground, every metal desk, cabinet, and loose object shot through the air and smashed into him with bone-crushing force. He tried to stand up and defend himself but Lilith kept it up, her eyes glaring at him with hatred. She stood up and brushed herself off, watching with satisfaction as Sam was buried beneath the crushing pile of debris.

Then, without warning, there was a brief flash of gold and Sam appeared outside of the pile. He stood there for a moment with his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath as his blood dripped steadily from multiple gaping wounds.

Lilith stared at Sam for a moment, her eyes widening as she hurried to think of another plan. Suddenly her eyes focused on a section of the ceiling above his head, and she laughed.

At the sound of her laugh Sam straightened up and glared at her, "You think that was funny, do you?"

She shrugged. "Actually…yes. I think it was hilarious."

Sam spat out a mouthful of blood and then grinned, his black eyes glinting murderously. "You want hilarious? I'll show you hilarious—"

He stepped forward to attack her but before he had even gone two feet he slammed into something solid.

Lilith's smile widened.

Sam's eyes narrowed in confusion and he tried to step forward again. Exactly the same thing happened. Something was preventing him from moving forward—it was like hitting a brick wall. "No way…" Sam muttered, realization dawning. He looked up at the ceiling and laughed bitterly. "You didn't."

"Oh…I did." She said, her voice dripping with satisfaction.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and looked up at her, a malicious grin on his face. He pointed upwards, "That's a Devil's Trap, isn't it, Lilith?"

**Please Review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

_Sam ran a hand through his hair and looked up at her, a malicious grin on his face. He pointed upwards, "That's a Devil's Trap, isn't it, Lilith?"_

Lilith walked closer until she was right outside the circle. "Why yes, Sam, it is…" she said gleefully, putting her hands on her hips, "I forced one of the people in town to draw it for me so that you could…try it out."

Sam looked at her in amused disbelief. "Well…this is different. I've never actually been trapped inside one of these things before."

"It seems the tables have turned."

"So they have." Sam agreed, testing out the wall again. It remained as solid as ever. "And how long do you intend to keep me here?"

She shrugged. "Until I kill you…" she said simply, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "No offense, Sammy, but there's only room for one of us in this world."

Sam shook his head, "I absolutely agree. It's time for you to go."

"Me? I'm not the one stuck in the Devil's Trap." She said smugly.

"Stuck? I prefer to think of it as 'momentarily detained.' Stuck is such a final word." Sam said, studying the symbols on the ceiling.

"Get used to it, cause you're not going anywhere. Those symbols are perfect, I checked them myself."

"Yes, I can see that. It's very well done." Sam said casually.

"Thank you."

"You're quite welcome." He said, continuing to look around.

Lilith stared at him, unsure of what to think. Sam wasn't panicking like she'd thought he would, and on the contrary he seemed…pleasantly surprised to find himself stuck in a Devil's Trap. He was so calm and collected that every word he spoke sounded like he was praising her for baking a pie rather than plotting to kill him.

It was unnerving.

Sam looked back at her and smiled. "Well, if you're going to kill me you might as well get it over with…I'd imagine you have all kinds of soul stealing appointments to keep today. I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble."

Lilith didn't move. "What are you planning?" she said suspiciously.

"Who, me?" Sam asked innocently, his black eyes gleaming. "What are you talking about?"

"You're up to something." Lilith said. "Whatever it is, it won't work."

"I'm not up to anything—you win fair and square. You've bested me, I admit it."

"You're lying."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But who cares? Like you said, I'm the one stuck in the Devil's Trap."

Lilith took a hesitant step forward. "I'm sick of your games…" she said angrily. "This ends now."

"Great, I accept that, just…" he stopped and smiled in relief at something over her shoulder, "Bobby—thank God…"

Lilith's eyes widened and she spun around. The room was empty. "What—" suddenly comprehension dawned and she realized what Sam was doing. She turned back around and saw Sam standing in the circle with his eyes closed, his face lined with concentration—

"NO—" she shouted.

The entire ceiling splintered and ripped in half with a thunderous crack, severing the boundaries of the Devil's Trap in a second and sending dust and broken plaster raining down on them both. Sam opened his eyes as the damaged ceiling creaked dangerously above them as it strained to support the weight of the third floor. He realized that it could give way at any moment—

Lilith let out a scream of rage and darted across the room.

Though he had been distracted by the ceiling's imminent collapse, Sam's eyes snapped back to the ground as he heard Lilith take off running. "Oh no you don't…" he said dangerously, going after her.

Lilith yanked open the drawer of a small cabinet by the door and spun around when Sam was only feet away from her, something clutched firmly in her grip—she pulled the trigger—

Sam realized what she was doing at the last second and dove to the side. The bullet missed him by inches. "Damn it, Lilith! That's the Colt!" he spat angrily. "You stole that from Bella!" The ceiling made an angry splitting noise and sagged further—

"Finders keepers." Lilith whispered as her finger tightened on the trigger for the second time—

The ceiling split even more with an echoing crack that was louder than ever before. Lilith froze and glanced up in time to see a spiderweb of cracks making their way across the ceiling—

Sam leapt to his feet and dove into the hall just as the ceiling collapsed behind him, raining desks and debris from the third floor room down into the second. He took off running down the hallway—

BANG—a second shot. The bullet zinged off of one of the metal lockers inches above his head.

Lilith.

Sam glanced over his shoulder and saw her running after him with a determined glint in her eyes, the Colt held tightly in her right hand—

Sam reached the end of the hall and took a flying leap—right through the window.

He fell two stories and landed on the roof of a car in the school parking lot with a sickening crunch of metal and shattered glass—

He didn't feel a thing.

Sam rolled off the car and landed on his feet on the blacktop with a grunt. The sun was rising still higher in the sky, and its light illuminated the parking lot with undeniable clarity. He wasn't alone.

Hundreds of demons stood in a circle around him, their eyes as black as night, all completely silent as they gazed at him with hatred.

Sam studied the crowd of demons around him, all traces of humor gone from his face. "So it's down to this, is it? All of you against me?"

The demons behind him parted, making a small path. Sam didn't even have to turn around, he knew who was there. "Lilith."

Lilith crossed her arms over her chest, watching him. "Sam…you're powerful. I know that…hell, every demon knows that." She said tiredly, "But would you just give it up? Look around you." She paused, staring intently at him, "You can't possibly defeat all of us—you can't win."

Sam smiled softly. "I have to."

"You _can't_." she spat.

Sam shook his head. "Just give me what I want, Lilith."

"Or what, Sam? What are you going to do?"

Sam looked up at her. "Kill anything and everything that stands in my way." He said softly.

Lilith shook her head, a small smile of disbelief on her lips. "No, you're just going to die." She said simply, and walked away. "Kill him."

The demons smiled horribly in anticipation and all leapt at once. Time seemed to slow as Sam watched them all coming at him—this was it. He gritted his teeth and pushed back hard with his mind before they could reach him. Power flowed freely out of him, unchecked and unhindered, raw.

And suddenly, he wasn't thinking. He didn't have to. The demons in the first couple rows were thrown high into the air by an invisible force and hovered there, little black dots in the morning sky.

Without even pausing to think the other demons charged mercilessly at Sam, and he felt himself being torn apart. He let out a scream of rage and a wave of power hurled the closest demons away from him. They landed on the ground shrieking, their skin hissing and burning like it had been doused with acid. "_Who's next_?" he growled dangerously.

And then demons were all around him, pressing in on all sides, tearing and ripping at him with all they had. Everything blurred together until he couldn't remember where he was, who he was, what was happening—

A surge of power erupted from deep inside of him, shooting out in all directions.

Time stopped.

The demons around him all froze instantly and hovered in the air around him like grotesque statues of living tissue. Sam opened his eyes and hundreds of demons all fell to the ground, motionless but alive, all trapped in a timeless moment that he controlled. He lowered his arms to his sides, blood dripping freely from his body and collecting in a puddle at his feet.

Sam stepped forward, walking over the pile of bodies until he reached the still figure of Lilith. She was standing off to the side, eyes wide open, lips slightly parted, the Colt held loosely in her hand.

He reached out and took the Colt from her before he waved a hand in front of her face, freeing her from his hold. Her eyes widened further and she stepped back from him as her eyes roamed over the still pile of hundreds of demons, all defeated by one individual. She looked up at him, at the blood pouring from his body, and shook her head in disbelief, "How are you still alive?"

Sam didn't answer, he just raised the Colt until it was pointed at the middle of her forehead. "Last chance." He said simply, "Give me what I want, or I'll get it myself."

Lilith looked up into the cold, black eyes of Sam Winchester and shook her head, "I don't even think you know what you want anymore." She said.

Sam stared at her, his face void of all emotion. "Bring Dean back."

Lilith laughed coldly. "Dean?" she shouted, throwing her arms out toward the bodies of countless demons that Sam had defeated, "After all this, after all that you've just done, all that you've become—you want _Dean_?!"

Sam didn't even flinch. "Yes."

Lilith scowled at him and angrily shoved him backwards. "You disgust me!" she shrieked, "You walk in here and destroy all that I've worked so hard to build—not because you hate evil and want it destroyed, not because you want the power and prestige that you could have over all demons, but because you want one person out of Hell!"

Sam cocked the gun, his finger wrapped firmly around the trigger. "Yes."

Lilith grinned wickedly at him. "Well I hate to ruin this for you, Sam, but even _if _I brought Dean back right now, he wouldn't be _your Dean_. He's been in Hell, Sam, he'll _never_ be your Dean again! And you can kill all the demons you want, you can use your power until it destroys you and the whole world, but you'll _never_ get Dean back, Sam. _Never_!" She glared at him in hatred, "So go ahead, kill me if you want—but guess what? I ripped Dean away from you, and you can't get him back." She said triumphantly, stepping forward until the barrel of the gun pressed against her forehead. "I still win."

Sam stared at her, searching for the truth in her words. "No...you're wrong."

Lilith tilted her head to the side, studying him. "I don't even think you're Sam anymore." She said bitterly, "You're nothing but an empty shell of power."

Sam shook his head, "No Lilith." He said. "That's what you are."

"Oh really?" she said tauntingly, and then paused. "We're not as different as you think, Sam. Have a nice lonely life…I'll see you in Hell someday."

Sam's finger tightened on the trigger...

**Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**While this part begins a little darkly…I promise that by the end the chapter there will be hope! **

**Thank you for all your kind reviews! Enjoy.**

Sam tightened his finger on the trigger, the barrel of the Colt touching Lilith's forehead. Her eyes stared back at his, unflinchingly. She was ready to die.

Sam stopped.

What was shooting Lilith really going to accomplish? He would have an empty, meaningless victory over a demon, and Dean would still be in Hell. Of course, with all the power he had now, it would probably be easy to bring Dean back without Lilith's help, but it would be _so easy_ to torture her and force her to do it. She deserved everything he could possibly do to her and more for all the evil she had done...

All in all, shooting her would be doing her a favor…and that was the last thing that Sam wanted to do. Slowly, and with extreme reluctance, Sam lowered the Colt.

Lilith raised her eyebrows in disbelief, "What are you doing?"

Sam reached out with his left hand and pulled her toward him so that her face was inches away from his. "Dean can't be saved anymore, can he? You've already destroyed him."

Lilith took in a shaky breath, trying to ignore the pain that his iron grip was causing her shoulder. The calm acceptance in his voice was terrifying. "Sam—"

"Death is too good for you." Sam hissed, tightening his grip.

Lilith was trembling now, "Sam, _please_—"

"Bring him here." Sam said darkly, "Alive."

Lilith breathed out, trying not to panic, "Sam, you don't want to see—Dean's—Dean's not—"

"I'm going to count to three." Sam said simply, releasing his grip on her. "If Dean's not here in three seconds, I will slowly start torturing you in the most painful way that I can imagine, and it won't be quick."

Lilith nodded hurriedly and concentrated on the task.

"One…" Sam said. "Two…"

There was a flash of light and something appeared and fell forward toward the ground. Sam automatically reached out his hands and caught his brother before he fell the whole way, and he gently lowered him to the pavement. Dean's eyes were closed, and he was shaking uncontrollably.

Sam's breath caught in his throat at the sight of his brother. "I've got you…" he whispered softly. "I've got you…" he reached out to run a hand through Dean's hair, but as soon as he made contact Dean's eyes shot wide open and he blindly kicked out with all his strength, catching Sam in the stomach, and then rolled away from him. "S-stay away…" he cried hoarsely. "Who are you? Get away from me!"

"Dean." Sam said softly, his heart pounding in his chest, "It's me…it's Sam."

Dean shook his head. "I—I don't know you." He said loudly, his eyes darting back and forth wildly as though he was looking for danger to appear.

Sam felt as though the ground had dropped out from beneath his feet. "You…you have to know me…I'm your little brother…"

Dean frantically shook his head, not even listening to his words. His breathing became erratic and completely irregular, and Sam realized with a jolt that he was sobbing.

Sam's heart raced faster and he stared helplessly at his brother. Every sob was like a punch in the gut. This was _Dean_. Dean never sobbed, not like this. No one should _ever_ sob like this. Sam reached out a hand toward his brother.

"Don't—" Dean sobbed, crawling backwards away from him, "D-don't hurt me again. P-please don't h-hurt me anymore. I don't know w-what you want! I—I d-don't—Just go away—j-just—"

Sam closed his eyes. A tear trailed down his bloody cheek. He couldn't comfort his brother…couldn't help him…couldn't save him.

It was too late.

"M-make it stop." Dean sobbed. "_Please_."

Sam smiled softly at Dean, his eyes full of tears. "I will. I'll fix this, Dean. I promise."

Dean didn't answer, he just lowered his head to the pavement and continued sobbing as though he would never stop, as though he couldn't stop.

Unable to take it anymore, Sam waved his hand and Dean froze, trapped in time just like the rest of the world. Sam stared at his brother, his face twisted in agony, lying curled up on the pavement. This wasn't Dean—not anymore.

"You destroyed him." He whispered.

Lilith fell to her knees, shaking. She was terrified.

Sam looked over at her and a red hot rage shot through him. "_You…_" Words failed him. He couldn't even think of a word to describe her with. He wanted to scream. He wanted to blow something up, he wanted to run for miles until he couldn't run anymore and then collapse somewhere and cry for hours.

He wanted _Dean_.

"I'm going to fix this." He said firmly, "Right now."

Lilith remained on her knees, eyes averted.

Sam glared at her. "Get up." He growled.

She didn't move. "There's nothing you can do…" she said softly.

Sam shook his head angrily. He reached down and before she could react he grabbed her roughly around her waist and threw her over his shoulder. "Yes there is." He said, a dangerous smile on his face. "Plan B."

Lilith blinked. She considered demanding that he put her down but decided that that would probably be a bad move. "I—I didn't know you _had _a Plan B." she said simply.

"Neither did I…until now." He started walking across the parking lot with Lilith slung over his shoulder. "You're only alive now because I'm keeping an eye on you…if you so much as breathe wrong I swear you'll be dead before you can even scream."

Lilith nodded. "I guessed as much."

Sam continued walking until he reached the other side of the lot. He stopped in front of two figures, their faces frozen in shock and horror as they gazed blankly into the distance. Without putting Lilith down, he waved a hand in front of them, freeing them from their timeless state.

"Hey." He said softly.

Bobby's eyes widened in shock. "_Sam_?" he looked back over at the pile of demons, all frozen in place, "But you were just fighting them…how—how did you—"

"It's okay, Bobby." He said quietly. "It's going to be okay."

Ruby grinned. "I see you found Lilith."

"Yep." Sam said simply, and without any ceremony he dropped her on the pavement.

Lilith landed with a thud and then instantly moved to run away.

"Don't even think about it." Sam said darkly, and she stopped, motionless, unable to run.

"Sam, _please_…" She pleaded.

"No, Lilith." he said coldly. "I'm _not_ letting you go so you might as well stop asking or I'll take your voice away, because I am _so sick _of hearing your voice."

Bobby put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Sam…" he said worriedly, "You—you—"

"I'm fine." Sam said dismissively, meeting his gaze with his black eyes, "And I'm still mostly me…I think, so you can stop worrying."

"Well, _yeah_," Ruby said, putting her hands on her hips, "If you weren't we'd all be dead right now. What the hell did you do?"

Sam hesitated, "What do you mean?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and pointed at the heap of motionless demons, "What did you do to them, turn them into an art sculpture or something?" she demanded.

Sam shook his head and shrugged. "I stopped time."

Bobby's mouth dropped open. "You stopped time for hundreds of demons?"

Ruby grinned, "No, Bobby," She said. "Sam stopped time for the whole world."

Bobby paled instantly. "W-what? No…that's not possible…" he gasped, looking at Sam for some kind of confirmation.

Sam shrugged. "It just happened…" he said emotionlessly. "I didn't even try, it just…happened."

Bobby took of his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "So…what you're saying is that you _accidently_ stopped time for everyone in the entire world?"

"Yes." Sam admitted.

Ruby grinned. "Oh yeah…I bet on the right horse."

Sam shook his head, agitated. "But it doesn't matter, Ruby. None of this matters." He said dismissively. "We can't save Dean."

"But we can get him back now." Bobby interjected. "Lilith—"

"He's not—" Sam paused and then continued, his voice full of emotion, "He wouldn't be the same, Bobby. Not now. It's too late…it was too late the second he died."

"We can still try, Sam, we have to—"

"Yeah, we could." Sam said with a shrug, "We could bring him back to life and patiently try to fix him for the rest of our lives. But he still wouldn't really be Dean again."

Bobby stared at him in disbelief. "So…so you're saying that we should give up on him? We just forget about Dean and move on with our lives?"

"I never said that." Sam countered.

"Yeah." Bobby spat angrily. "You just did. After all Dean's done for you, you're just gonna leave him in Hell to suffer—"

"Bobby." Sam said dangerously. "Don't." he paused and looked away. "I get it, okay? I know you're scared. I know it's freaking you out that I have demonic eyes and can do things you've never even imagined, but I'm still Sam. I'm still me, and Dean's still my big brother, and I'd still do anything for him. Hell, I embraced my powers and risked completely losing myself in order to save him, so don't _ever_ accuse me of giving up on him, because I would rather die and go to Hell myself than see him suffer."

Bobby looked away and sighed. "Sam…I—"

"I'll do whatever it takes to get him back." Sam continued determinedly, "Nothing can stop me from saving him. _Nothing_."

Bobby nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know that, Sam…" he said softly, "And I'll always be behind you. We'll get him back together."

Lilith stared up at them in disbelief from where she was lying on the ground. She laughed softly. "You—you people are insane…"

Ruby frowned and delivered a swift kick to her ribcage. She grinned at the loud crack that followed. "Shut your mouth before I break all your ribs, Lilith dear. The _only_ person that's allowed to call these two girly freaks insane is me, and I can call them whatever the hell I want. Got it?"

Lilith gritted her teeth and glared at her. "You'll pay for your disloyalty, Ruby." She hissed.

"Oh give it a rest, no one cares." Ruby said dismissively, turning back to Sam. "So…what's the plan? I assume you have one."

Sam grinned softly. "Getting attached to us, Ruby?" he said teasingly.

"What?" Her eyes narrowed. "In your dreams. The day I even start liking you two losers is the day that—"

"All Hell breaks loose?" Sam suggested. "That could be arranged."

"Oh shut up." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just explain the plan…not that it'll be any good…"

Sam shrugged. "We need to bring Dean back like he was before he went to Hell."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed, "Cocky, rash, stupid, self-absorbed, oh the many adoring qualities of Dean Winchester—"

"_Anyway_," Sam continued, "I just realized that I've been looking at it all wrong."

Bobby's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well…it's impossible, isn't it? Dean's been in Hell—he'll never be the same, even _if_ we brought him back now."

"So then how are we supposed to save him?" Ruby asked, confused. "There's nothing else we can do."

Sam shook his head. "There is…one thing." He paused, and then continued. "In order to save Dean, we have to go back to where it's possible for him to be saved."

Ruby's eyes widened. "You…you don't mean…" she glanced back over at the heap of demons, all frozen in time. "That might actually work…"

"It has to." Sam said.

"Of course," Ruby continued, back to her usual cynical tone, "It's still a bad plan because you've never actually done anything like that before."

"Yeah, that's the problem." Sam admitted. "It's all theoretical."

"Wait just a second, Sam…" Bobby interrupted loudly. "Are you talking about _time travel_?"

Sam nodded.

Bobby breathed in deeply, trying to let that sink in. "Time travel? You want to attempt…time travel?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Well…I was able to stop time, so I figure I should be able to travel through time as well."

Ruby shrugged. "I think it'll work…theoretically, of course. And if nothing really bad happens, which is always a possibility when Sam does the planning."

"You'll be taking us with you, of course." Bobby said firmly.

Sam frowned. "What? But I—"

"Of course he's taking us." Ruby said briskly. "He's not just gonna leave us behind like excess baggage."

"I'll…try." Sam said hesitantly.

"No, Sam, you _will_." Bobby said determinedly. "Someone's still gotta watch out for you."

Ruby grinned. "Yeah, and you still have to go to bed at eight o'clock every night, no tv on school nights—"

"Damn it, Ruby, just shut up!" Bobby said, shaking his head in annoyance.

"It'll _never_ work." Lilith said darkly. "It won't."

Sam glanced down at her, trying to resist the impulse to splatter her brains against the parking lot—_not yet_. "It will…you'll see." He said, a dangerous smile on his face. "You'll see."

Ruby nodded impatiently, "Let's just do this."

Bobby nodded, looking supportively at Sam. "Tell us what we need to do."

Sam met his gaze and then took a deep breath. "Okay…we need to time this just right." He said determinedly. "Ruby, when did Lilith actually possess you?"

Ruby frowned, "Right when we got into the dining room—when the hellhounds were chasing us. She possessed me while I was running…" she trailed off and then kicked Lilith again as hard as she could. There was a second crack.

Lilith screamed.

Sam grinned faintly and then continued, "We're going to have to cut it close."

Ruby nodded. "You need to know where Lilith is."

"Exactly, and this'll work better if we know for sure that she's _in you_. If we go in before she possesses you we would have more time, but if something went wrong Lilith could possess someone else and throw us off. We can't do anything until everyone's in the dining room."

"I get it, Sam…but I'm still going back with you, right?" Ruby said in her usual cocky voice. But there was a hint of something else, too—pleading?

Sam blinked. "Yeah." He said, "Of course…we need someone to be able to tell us how incredibly stupid we are when something goes wrong."

"I'm totally up for that." She said, grinning.

"Thought so." Sam said. He took a deep breath. "Okay…I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" Bobby questioned, his dark eyes studying Sam critically. "Sam, you look terrible…you're covered in blood and need stitches in at least a dozen places, probably more...you should rest for a moment—"

"No." Sam interrupted softly. "No, I need to do this now..."

Bobby nodded, uncertainty still visible in his eyes.

"Everything's going to be fine." Sam said simply. He smiled reassuringly at Bobby and then closed his eyes and concentrated. "You'll have to be patient…" he said softly, "I don't really know what I'm doing…"

"It won't work!" Lilith shouted suddenly, her eyes wild. "You'll fail, Sam! You can't save Dean no matter what you do!" she began struggling furiously against the invisible hold Sam had on her. "_Let me go, damn it_! You can't do this!"

Sam ignored Lilith and concentrated. For a few moments nothing happened, but that only made him more determined. He dug deeper inside himself, searching—

Bobby kept his eyes focused on Sam's face, watching as it tensed and then relaxed completely into a peaceful expression. It was as though he was lying on a beach under the sun, listening to soft waves break upon a sandy shore. As he watched, he heard Sam let out a soft sigh, barely audible even in the silence of the timeless world.

Bobby glanced over at Lilith and realized that although she was still shouting, no sound was coming out of her mouth. Ruby shot him a look of apprehension from where she stood, and as Bobby stared back at her with what he hoped was a reassuring expression, she flickered. He breathed in quickly in surprise and she flickered again, like a black and white picture on an old tv. _"It's working…"_ he whispered…only nothing came out. A deep silence curled around them tightly, the steady beating of their hearts the only sound in the entire world.

The world blurred and darkened, smearing all the colors together in a canvas of bright white nothingness that stretched for endless miles in every direction—and they were falling—falling forever, with nothing to hold them up but the rushing wind—

Sam opened his eyes.

It was completely dark apart from a couple streetlamps and the soft twinkling of light of the windows of nearby houses. The sound of running water was loud in his ears.

He looked around and saw Bobby and Ruby lying on the ground. "Time to get up." He said, grabbing both of them and hauling them to their feet.

Bobby looked at him, his gaze unfocused. "W-what? What's going on?"

"The sprinklers are already on." Sam said simply. "We have to work fast."

Bobby shook his head and blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. "Okay…okay I'm ready."

"That was…that was one hell of a ride, Sam." Ruby said shakily. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with awe and confidence. "Let's do this."

Sam nodded. "It's time."

**Will they be able to save Dean? You'll just have to wait and see! **

**PLEASE REVIEW! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter was a lot of fun for me to write! When you read it, remember that there are **_**two **_**Sams, the one from the past and the powerful one from the future. I've taken care to eliminate any confusion of who's speaking, but I just wanted to give you all a heads-up. **

**Enjoy.**

Sam concentrated on breathing regularly as he took long strides toward the house. He was so ready to do this—ready for this nightmare to be over—for two basic reasons. First of all, he really, really wanted to save Dean from his ticket to Hell, and secondly…

If he didn't do it soon, he didn't know how much longer he could remain conscious.

He knew that he had lost a lot of blood—and was still losing it—fast, and his head felt like it was spinning in circles. Of course, that could also be the result of using his powers too much all at once. He had never willingly used his powers before, after all, and he had just defeated hundreds of demons and then successfully travelled backwards in time. It was like he had skipped the astronaut training program and went right into space.

Sam crept up and ducked behind a large bush outside of the house. Ruby and Bobby followed him, looking around cautiously for hidden danger.

"Why are we sneaking around, Sam?" Ruby asked quietly. "You're more powerful than any demon here."

Sam shrugged. "Oh…maybe because I don't _want _to fight the entire demon population again."

Ruby's eyes narrowed and she examined him closely. Sam gave her a small smile to try to reassure her, but he could tell that she wasn't fooled. She knew something was wrong.

"Where is everyone inside the house?" Bobby whispered, oblivious to this exchange. "How do we know when to go in?"

The high pitched scream of a little girl suddenly came from upstairs.

"Okay, that means we're up in the bedroom." Sam said quickly. "Dean just stopped me from stabbing the girl after Lilith left her."

"Yeah. So what now?" Bobby asked.

"Now we go in and wait." Sam said determinedly.

"How?" Ruby questioned. "Lilith is keeping all the doors shut, and she's probably watching them…Bobby already told us he couldn't get in."

Sam sighed. "I'll get us in, don't worry." He said, and then concentrated for a moment on the layout of the house. "Okay…the dining room is to our right…but we need to hide until they get there so that we're sure Lilith possesses Ruby."

"Are there any closets or something?" Bobby suggested.

"That's what I was thinking," Sam said softly, "Yeah, there are a few nearby…and there's one walk in closet right inside the room."

"Okay, let's do that." Ruby said quickly. "Sam…are you sure you can—"

"I'm fine, Ruby." He said firmly, and then closed his eyes. "No one move…"

Bobby nodded. Before he had time to blink they were all huddled in the darkness of the closet. "Well…that was fast."

Sam took a deep, shaky breath and concentrated on making the room stop spinning. "Y-yeah…" he whispered, holding his head in his hands.

"Sam?" Bobby said worriedly.

"I'm fine…" Sam whispered weakly.

"Like hell you are." Ruby hissed back. "You look like shit. I don't even know how you're still walking, let alone using your powers."

"We just have to concentrate on killing Lilith." Sam said. "Then all of this will be over."

"Yeah, cause that'll be a piece of cake…" Ruby said darkly.

Suddenly heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs as people rushed into the hallway. Loud and angry voices broke the silence—Sam and Dean arguing.

Bobby shook his head. "This is…weird."

"It's gonna get weirder, old man." Ruby promised.

Sam breathed in deeply. His head felt better, it wasn't pounding anymore and he no longer felt like he was on a ship sailing in a storm. "I'm okay now."

"Well, that's good…our plan kinda goes south if you pass out." Ruby said.

"Yeah…" Sam agreed. He pulled out the Colt and gave it to Bobby. "Here."

Bobby shook his head, forgetting that no one could see the gesture in the darkness of the closet. "Sam, you should be the one to shoot her…"

Sam shook his head. "I don't think Lilith's going to let me shoot her with the Colt…not this time. I'm weaker now and her powers are probably at an all time high because she's been resting here for awhile. I need you to keep that hidden for me until she gets cocky or lets her guard down…she doesn't know we have it, after all, and she'll never expect you to carry it. She'll be way more focused on me than you."

"Yeah." Bobby said softly.

Suddenly the voices stopped. The clock in the hall struck midnight and began chiming the hour, and each chord sounded like a nail being pounded into a coffin. Fear and panic welled up inside of Sam as he fought to remain calm.

Then he heard it—the bone chilling howls of the hellhounds. He breathed out, realizing that the last time he experienced this night he hadn't been able to see or hear the beasts…but now he could.

Angry growling followed the howl, and then frantic footsteps pounded on the wooden floor straight toward where they were hiding. The dining room doors were wrenched open and then slammed shut.

Inside the closet, Sam tried to breathe regularly. This was really happening—he had a second chance to save his brother, and this time…this time he wouldn't fail.

"Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off." Ruby's voice shouted in the dining room.

"What?"

"Come on! That dust won't last forever!" she said frantically. There was a long pause—

"Wait." Dean said suddenly.

"Do you _want_ to die?"

"Sam, that's not Ruby—_it's not Ruby_!"

Inside the closet, Ruby's hand tightened around Sam's arm, stopping him from bursting out of their hiding place in anger. "Wait…" she breathed. "Not yet…"

There was a loud thud as Sam was thrown across the room against the wall, and another as Dean was thrown backwards onto the table.

"How long you been in her?" Dean asked, breathing hard.

"Not long…" Lilith said childishly, "But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty…"

Inside the closet Sam glared at the door and bit his tongue as hard as he could to keep himself from saying something, and the taste coppery blood filled his mouth. The pointless small talk continued for a few moments as the brothers tried to stall her for as long as possible, both praying for a miracle to happen. Last time, there hadn't been a miracle. Dean had died and gone to Hell…but this time would be different.

"Hello, Sam…" Lilith continued, "I've wanted to meet you for a _very_ long time…"

Inside the closet, Sam gritted his teeth in fury.

Ruby released his arm. "_Now_."

Sam reached for the doorknob, but he was so angry that the door slammed open before he could even touch it. He stepped out into the room, his black eyes glinting murderously. Three people turned to look at him in shock, but he only had eyes for one—Lilith.

"Surprise." He said darkly, and before she had a chance to move he waved his arm and she went flying away from Sam and into a different wall.

Bobby and Ruby stepped out of the closet behind him. Ruby grinned slightly. "Well…there's no way we can beat that entrance…"

"Just do something useful." Sam snapped, walking toward Lilith.

Lilith climbed quickly to her feet and stared at him as though she didn't know what to think. Her eyes shifted to the Sam she still held against the wall and then back to the black eyed Sam that had thrown her across the room. "What exactly is going on?" she demanded.

Sam stopped when he was a foot away from her and smiled. "Didn't anyone tell you? It's time for your going away party."

She scowled angrily and waved her arm sharply. A bloody gash appeared across Sam's chest, but instead of flinching he grabbed her arm and threw her as hard as he could behind him. She crashed into a chair and then landed in a heap under the windows. Without wasting a moment she leapt to her feet, her eyes flashing angrily.

Before he could react Sam was thrown backwards against a wall—right next to the other Sam, who looked as though he was still in shock from seeing a demonic eyed version of himself come bursting out of a closet.

Sam struggled to escape from her hold and glanced over at himself. "Oh—don't look at me like that—uh…you like that—damn this is confusing—" he muttered.

Lilith smiled and stood back up, smiling. "Looks like I win." She said smugly.

Sam's eyebrows shot up and he laughed. "Uh…no." He closed his eyes tightly and concentrated.

Lilith's smile widened. "Well, this was fun, but I still—"

The windows behind her all exploded inward with impressive force and hundreds of little glass shards embedded themselves in her ivory skin. She let out a cry of surprise and moved her hands up to cover her face. While she was distracted Sam freed himself from her hold and then grabbed a hold of the other Sam's shoulder. One sharp tug freed him from the wall and he fell onto the floor. "Get up!" Sam yelled at him quickly, and pushed him over towards the others.

He reached down and wrapped his fingers around the knife that was lying on the floor. "Ruby, catch!" he yelled, and threw her the knife.

She caught it easily. "Got it."

Lilith opened her eyes again, enraged. The pounding on the door had increased, and by the sound of it the hellhounds had almost got in. "You can't keep them out forever…" she spat.

Sam glared at her. "Let Dean go, Lilith…" he said dangerously, "And _maybe_ I won't kill you in the most horrible way I can imagine."

Lilith's mouth dropped open in amusement and she laughed. "Are you going to kill me, Sam? How frightening—but I'm afraid I have to decline your request."

The hellhounds pounding on the door increased.

Sam smiled softly. "Good…cause at this point I really, _really_ want to kill you."

"Sam!" Ruby shouted urgently. "The door, watch the damn door!"

Sam turned his attention back to the door just as it flew open. He leapt into the middle of the room and stood in front of his friends, ready. Eight hellhounds bolted into the room and then stopped and snarled at him, their white teeth dripping with hot saliva.

Lilith frowned angrily. "Don't stop!" she shrieked. "Attack him! Kill them all, damn it!"

The dogs' growling deepened, but they still didn't move.

"I think your pets are a little scared, Lilith…" Bobby said darkly. "If I were you, I would be too."

Lilith's fists clenched in fury. "Fine then," she hissed, "I'll do it myself—"

Sam looked back just in time to see Lilith leap across the room and descend towards Dean—Ruby jumped in front of her with the knife held high, but one flick of Lilith's wrist sent her sailing across the room along with everyone else, leaving Dean pinned helplessly against the table.

Sam snapped. White hot rage erupted deep in his soul and in less than a second he crossed the room and threw himself between his brother and Lilith. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!" he shrieked, his voice distorted so much in fury that it didn't even sound like him anymore. He grabbed her around her neck and threw her across the room so fast that she was only a blur as she slammed into the china closet with a deafening crack.

"SAM! LOOK OUT!" Bobby shouted.

Sam spun around just as the hellhounds all attacked him in one giant mass and knocked him to the ground—all intent on ripping every vital organ from his body.

"NO!" Someone shouted—Dean?

Sam let out a shriek of anguish and fought to throw them off. His vision dimmed slightly—or maybe that was just blood dripping down into his eyes—

Ruby saw Sam go down under the snapping teeth and slashing claws of the hellhounds and felt her blood run cold. "Bobby watch Lilith!" she shouted frantically, and then rushed toward the pile determinedly. She swung the knife and slit clean through the neck of the first hellhound she could reach, and without wasting a moment she swung again—

_Too slow_—she could never kill them all before they killed Sam. "Sam, damn it, I can't do this by myself!" she screamed.

Bobby's heart was pounding so hard that he thought it might leap out of his chest. He knew he could use the Colt to try to kill some of the hellhounds, but there were only a few bullets left and they needed a sure way to kill Lilith. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lilith slowly climbing to her feet. "Oh no you don't!" he growled, quickly pulling out the Colt. He aimed for the center of her forehead, but before he could fire she glanced up and saw him. Her eyes glinted furiously and she flung him headfirst across the room. He slammed into the corner with a thud and slumped to the ground, unconscious. The Colt landed next to him, unnoticed.

Well, almost unnoticed. Sam saw it from where he stood pressed up against the wall, and his eyes widened as he realized what it was. He saw Lilith walk toward Dean and hurriedly moved so that he was directly in her path. Lilith grabbed onto his jacket. "Get out of my way, Sammy boy…" she hissed, and threw him as hard as she could. He hit the wall and fell to the ground next to Bobby, motionless.

Meanwhile, Ruby slashed through the heart of another hellhound with a splatter of crimson blood. She turned to kill the next one—

"Watch out!" Dean yelled.

Before she could even look up one of the hellhounds slammed into her and knocked her to the ground—the knife tumbled out of her hand and slid across the wooden floor out of her reach.

Sam saw her go down from where he was pinned under the mass of sweaty, blood covered bodies—his vision was swimming in and out of focus, and he could feel his own sticky blood pouring down his skin and pooling underneath him, but he couldn't give up now. Not before Dean was completely safe—

An anguished cry escaped from his lips and he pushed with everything he had left—his whole body tightened in anguish and protest as more power was expelled from him with a jolt. All of the hellhounds were thrown off of him in an instant and then hung in the air, terrifying statues frozen in time.

Ruby's eyes widened as she realized what Sam had just done. He didn't have the strength to be pulling those kinds of stunts—she painfully pushed herself into a sitting position and looked back at him in horror—Sam looked like he was barely alive, barely hanging on by a thread.

Behind her, Lilith stooped down and picked up the knife with a horrible grin on her face.

Sam's world darkened and then swam back into blurry focus as he pushed himself up slowly with one aching hand—he couldn't move his other arm at all. Where was Lilith? He couldn't—couldn't see—

"_Sammy get up!_" Dean shouted frantically, struggling to break free from the hold Lilith still had on him. "_Get up!_" Sam's head snapped up at the sound of Dean's voice, and for a moment their eyes met. Dean sucked in a breath at what he saw—Sam's eyes were different and the same all at once—his little brother was staring up at him through demonic eyes—

"How the _hell _are you still alive?" Lilith growled from where she stood a couple feet away. Ruby sprung to her feet to attack her but Lilith sent her flying into the windows with a sweep of her arm.

Sam winced and grabbed onto the edge of the table behind him with his good hand to slowly and painfully pull himself to his feet. When he was standing he held his head high and smiled faintly at Lilith. "Just to spite you, honestly." he said. He looked over at his brother. "Dean…it's so good to see you…"

Dean let out his breath shakily. "Oh God, Sammy…"

Sam gave him a small smile and rested his hand firmly on his brother's arm. He turned back to Lilith. "This ends now."

"Yes…it does." Lilith said, stepping closer toward him, the knife clutched in her grip.

"Don't!" Dean pleaded helplessly. "Lilith, don't! It's me you want!"

Sam tightened his grip on his brother's arm. "It's going to be okay, Dean."

Lilith's smile widened. "No, Sammy, it's not. I'm going to kill you."

Sam met her gaze unflinchingly. "My name's Sam."

Lilith shrugged. "Whatever." She moved her arm back and then swung the knife towards him with all her strength—

A gunshot echoed loudly in the room.

Lilith paused, confused, and looked up. The other Sam was kneeling on the ground next to Bobby, the Colt held firmly in his hand.

She smirked at him. "You missed."

"No," he said simply, slowly lowering the gun to his side. "I didn't."

Lilith's smile faded, and she looked down—there was a small hole in her shirt right over her heart. As she stared it flickered with white light, and she felt her body shutting down. "_No_!" she hissed, and angrily swung the knife toward Sam for the second time.

He was ready, and with one swift motion he grabbed it from her and plunged it into her chest.

Lilith cried out in pain and surprise and glanced up at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. "N-no…" she gasped, struggling to breathe.

"_No one_ messes with my family." Sam said coldly, his eyes locked on hers. He twisted the knife once and then yanked it out.

Lilith stared at him blankly, confusion still evident in her gaze as her breath hitched and blood filled her lungs. Her eyes flashed with white light one final time and then her knees buckled and she collapsed in a heap on the wooden floor.

Her terrified eyes remained open, gazing at nothing.

Lilith was dead.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! Sorry it took awhile to post this chapter, but I wanted to get it right. Enjoy!**

Sam's mind blanked as he stared down at Lilith's body. "She…she's dead…" he breathed, but even as he said the words an uneasy feeling twisted in his stomach.

"Imagine that…" Ruby muttered as a smile crept across her face, "We actually pulled it off. Congrats, Sammy."

Sam didn't answer. His vision kept swimming in and out of focus, making everything around him look like blurred figures in a smoke filled room, and Lilith's voice was muffled as though she were speaking from behind a wall. Of course, Sam knew that this was to be expected—after all, in the last few hours he had been almost suffocated, thrown against walls repeatedly, fallen out a window, and been ripped apart by hellhounds and demons, and that wasn't even counting the whole time travel issue. All in all, it was a miracle that he was still alive, let alone standing.

But there was something else nagging at the back of his mind.

Something was _wrong_.

Behind him, Dean sat up on the wooden table, finally free from Lilith's control. He breathed a sigh of relief—he was free. He didn't have to go to Hell. A grin formed on his face, and he looked at Sam, waiting for him to turn around.

"Ohhhh…." Bobby moaned as he slowly climbed to his feet, rubbing a hand over the back of his head where he had slammed against the wall, "That's gonna hurt like hell in the morning…"

Dean ignored him and kept his eyes fixed on his brother's back. Sam was facing away from him, the knife still gripped tightly in his hand as a few drops of blood coursed down the blade. As Dean continued to watch, he realized that his brother was shaking. "Sam?" he said quietly.

Sam didn't answer, but his shaking increased. He let go of the knife, and it dropped to the floor with a clatter.

Ruby stepped forward, "What's the matter with him?" she demanded.

"I—I don't know." Dean said, reaching out a hand toward his brother. His fingers curled around his shoulder and then pulled back quickly in alarm. "Damn it, Sam, you're burning up."

Sam said nothing, and kept staring off into space.

"Dean?"

The voice came from behind him. Dean turned slightly and saw the other Sam still kneeling on the floor, his wide eyes gazing into the distance as he held the colt loosely in his right hand. "Something…something's _wrong_, Dean." He said shakily.

Bobby's eyes narrowed in confusion. "But Lilith's dead…and that's what we came here to do."

Sam shook his head, "Something's wrong." He said again, biting his lip. "I—I _know_ it…"

"Look outside_._" The other Sam said darkly.

Dean's head snapped back around and he took a closer look at his brother. Bloody, shredded strips of clothing clung loosely to his body, which was a gory mess of gouges and slashing cuts. He could see deep tooth marks all up his torso and down his arms and legs. "Why?" he asked, "What's outside?"

Sam's opened his mouth to respond, but his knees chose that second to give out.

Dean saw his brother start to fall and instinctively reached out and grabbed onto the back of his jacket. "Whoa…" he exclaimed, slowly easing him down to the floor. He crouched worriedly over his brother, whose eyes were shut. "Come on, Sammy, don't do this to me…Sam—_Sam_—"

Sam heard Dean's frantic voice and opened his eyes a crack. "De…" he muttered. His good hand reached up and twisted into the fabric of his brother's jacket as his black eyes fought to focus. "T-they're outside…they're _a-all_…coming…"

Ruby turned around and glanced out the window. It was completely dark outside apart from a couple streetlamps—but that light was enough.

"Shit." She muttered.

"What?" Dean said hurriedly.

"We're surrounded." Ruby said darkly.

"By what?" Bobby questioned.

Ruby shot him a glare. "Are you _really_ that daft, old man?" she demanded impatiently, "_By what? _What do you think, huh? Oh _I know_, we're surrounded by fluttering fairies and magical elves—"

"Ruby!" Dean interrupted angrily. "Stop messing around and tell us what you see!"

Ruby snarled at him and her glare deepened. When she spoke her voice was low, dangerous. "Demons, Dean." She said, "We're surrounded by _demons_."

Sam focused on breathing. Not breathing regularly, just breathing in general. It was more difficult now, he had to focus on it, and every breath hurt as the gashes on his chest expanded and bled. His eyes closed slowly and he blinked hard to open them again. He realized that the others were still talking, but he couldn't hear them. Suddenly he felt a connection deep inside of him snap, and something heavy dropped to the floor.

"—don't you get it, it doesn't—" Ruby stopped talking abruptly and froze, her gaze focused on the floor. Her eyes widened.

Dean turned and followed her gaze. There was nothing there. "What are you looking at?" he asked, confused.

"You can't see them?" she said softly.

"See what?" Dean said.

Ruby shook her head and stared. Six hellhounds growled menacingly from where they had dropped from Sam's control, their matted fur and bulging muscles gleaming with sweat and blood. It was almost as though they were waiting for something…

"It's okay, Ruby…" Sam muttered tiredly, "They're n-not after…Dean…anymore." He drew in a deep breath and let it out, feeling the rattle of blood in his lungs. "Lilith's dead…she controlled them."

Dean realized with a jolt what they were talking about. "Hellhounds?" he said worriedly.

Sam nodded and looked over toward the beasts. He could barely make out their shapes, but he could see their eyes clearly—every eye was focused on him.

"What are they waiting for?" Ruby whispered.

Sam shook his head. He kept his gaze focused on the hellhounds, and then opened his mouth. "Lie Down." He said firmly. For a moment nothing happened, and then all of the beasts slowly dropped to their stomachs and laid their heads between their giant paws.

Ruby's eyes widened in disbelief. "Sam…"

Sam shook his head dismissively and blinked hard. "You all…need to go look…for salt and any kind of…" he took a deep breath, "…demon fighting materials…in the house." He finished painfully.

Ruby's eyes narrowed in confusion. "But Sam—you just—"

"Now." He said firmly. "You don't…have much time…"

"Why haven't the demons just come in and killed us already?" Bobby questioned. "I mean…nothing's stopping them."

Sam shook his head. "They're waiting. Now that their leader's dead they're going to want revenge—I think they're waiting for the r-rest of her followers to arrive before they attack."

For a moment Ruby stared back at him questioningly, but then she nodded and looked away. "I'll check the kitchen." She said simply.

"I'll look in the basement." Bobby said.

The other Sam nodded and stood up. "I'll look everywhere else." He glanced at Dean, who was still kneeling protectively beside…himself. The look on his face—Sam knew it well. Too well. "Dean...you should stay here." He said nonchalantly. "Make sure nothing tries to get in through the broken windows…"

Dean glanced up at him. "Yeah." He said softly. "That's a good idea."

Sam nodded and walked out the door. He paused in the hallway and glanced back sadly before going upstairs to search.

Dean instantly started putting pressure on his brother's wounds.

Sam winced and then opened his eyes. "Dean…don't. There's no point."

Dean shook his head. "Don't even start that shit, Sam…" he said dismissively, "Now hold still." He pulled out a knife and gently cut Sam's jacket off of him so that he could have a better idea of how badly his brother was hurt.

He paled.

Sam kept his eyes locked on his brother, watching as he used a piece of the jacket he had just cut off to stop some of the blood flow. Sam opened his mouth to tell his brother how useless it was to try to save him, how he was too far gone to help, but the look on Dean's face stopped him. "You…you know," he said instead, "You j-just ruined my f-favorite jacket."

Dean didn't even look up. "Oh quit your whining…you can get another one next time we go somewhere."

Sam winced. "Dean…" he said softly, "There's not…going to _be_ a…" he trailed off as Dean shot him a look daring him to continue.

"Not going to be a _what_, Sam?" he demanded.

Sam gave up. There was no point in telling his brother what he didn't want to hear, not now when he didn't have much time left. "There's not going to...be…another jacket that I'll ever like as m-much as that one." He finished, cringing at how lame it sounded.

Dean looked back down at what he was doing. "Don't be such a girl, Sam. It's just a jacket. Tell you what, after we're done here I'll buy you one with a nice pink floral pattern."

Sam smiled faintly. "It's good to have you back." He breathed.

Dean winced. "I'm not going anywhere." he promised.

"I know." Sam said softly. Dean moved once again to try to stop the bleeding, but Sam reached up with his good arm and grabbed tightly onto his wrist, stopping him. "You know…" he said, trying to distract his brother, "I made Ruby listen to Metallica music...for several _long_ hours."

Dean snorted. "Oh really? I bet she loved that."

Sam grinned. "I told her she…needed to learn to appreciate…the classics."

Dean smiled, but his eyes blurred and he blinked rapidly to fight back the tears that were threatening to make an appearance. "See? I knew I taught you something." He said, pushing down harder on Sam's wounds. _Oh God there's too much blood…_

Sam opened his mouth to reply but a cough escaped, and he tilted his head to the side to avoid coughing on his brother. A metallic taste filled his mouth, and he swallowed hard, trying to force it back down.

"Sammy?"

Sam looked up, hating the sorrow in his brother's gaze. Dean looked scared—really scared. "Dean…you're _not_ going to lose me." He said softly. "Even if I die…you'll still have y-your Sam—"

"That's not the point and you know it." Dean interrupted forcefully. "I don't _care_ that you have demonic eyes and freaky powerful abilities, okay? You're still Sam—_my brother—_the same awkwardly tall person that thinks that all people are mostly good and could never hurt a fly. I'm _not_ going to let you die."

Sam stared at Dean, a lump forming in his throat. "I—I thought you'd freak out and h-hate me the second you saw my eyes."

Dean shook his head. "Sammy, give me some credit. I practically raised you, I think I'd be able to tell if you're _you_, black eyes or not."

Sam nodded.

For a moment they sat in silence.

"Dean…" Sam began slowly, "You…you can't s-save me this time."

"Sure I can…you'll just have a lot of cool scars, that's all." Dean said, concentrating on what he was doing.

Sam sighed. "Dean—"

"Chicks love scars, Sammy."

"Maybe one or two," Sam agreed, "But right now…I'm more like Frankenstein…than anywhere _near_ cool looking."

"Well, you are freakishly tall…"

"Dean. I'm being serious."

Dean shook his head and concentrated on stopping the blood flow from Sam's wounds. The blood kept oozing out despite his efforts, and he was becoming more and more frantic.

Sam swallowed hard and blinked, trying to clear his vision. "Dean…I'm dying."

"No." his brother said, gritting his teeth "Stop saying that."

Sam stared at him. "I made my choice...to save you. You need to accept that."

"Yeah, well, I can't!" Dean snapped, finally looking up. "You shouldn't have done it, Sam! You should have just left me in Hell and moved on!"

Sam shook his head. "You just don't get it, do you?" he said sadly.

"Get what? What is there for me to get? Everyone I care about dies—usually to save me! I—I can't—" his voice broke. "I can't watch you die again, Sammy." He said firmly. "I won't."

Sam sighed and looked away. There was a long pause.

"She made me watch." He whispered, his voice barely audible.

Dean looked up in confusion. "What?"

"Lilith." Sam said simply, his eyes downcast as his mind replayed the whole nightmarish scenario, "She made me watch."

Dean's heart skipped a beat. He knew exactly what Sam was referring to, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. "What are you talking about?"

"She…she held me _against the wall_…as the hellhounds r-ripped you apart." Sam said shakily. He paused, feeling Dean's eyes burning into him, but he didn't look up. "You were _screaming_, Dean. Oh God, you were screaming…but I…I couldn't help you." He let out a sob. "I _couldn't move_. I just watched and screamed for her to stop…" he trailed off, and a tear trailed down his cheek, tracking blood with it until it dripped off his chin.

"Sam…"

Sam swallowed hard and ignored him. "And then…you stopped screaming," He laughed bitterly, "And believe it or not the silence was actually w-worse than the screaming—because silence meant that you were dead."

Dean stared at his brother, unsure of what to say.

"When I could finally move…it was _too late_. Your eyes stared right through me, and I had to deal with the fact that my big brother—_my best friend_—was suffering in Hell…because of _me_."

"There was nothing you could do." Dean said softly.

Sam shook his head. "You _a-always_ save me, Dean…" he said, "But this time…this time I saved you."

Dean nodded. "You did." He said shakily. "You did _good_, Sam."

Sam looked up at him intently. "You're…g-going to be _fine_…" He said, forcing his words out, "You…and the others…can _easily_…defeat…the demons outside. I know it." He paused, and then a small smile formed on his face, "Dean…are you…h-holding my hand?"

Dean let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob, "What? You…you're just imagining things, Sammy."

Sam's smile widened. "Yeah…that's what I thought." He gave Dean's hand a comforting squeeze. "I'll tell…Mom and Dad…you said hello."

Dean squeezed his eyes shut. "Sammy…_no_…"

"And Jess…"

"Don't do this to me, Sam…_please_…not again…" Dean begged, his voice cracking with emotion.

Sam looked at him. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Dean smiled at him softly, his eyes brimming with tears as he ran a hand through his brother's messy hair, so choked up that he couldn't say a word.

"Night, Dean." Sam whispered. He took one final breath and then his head fell lifelessly to the side. His eyes remained open, staring blankly ahead, and after a few moments they changed back to their usual chocolate brown color.

"No…" Dean said brokenly, his heart pounding in his chest. "Sammy, no…_wake up_…"

The sound of footsteps softly echoed down the wooden staircase and into the hall, but Dean didn't even notice. He stared down at his brother's body, the realization that he was dead hitting him like a slap in the face. The world spun around him and he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting not to be sick.

The footsteps reached the entrance to the room and then stopped abruptly. There was a brief pause.

"Not again_…" _Dean murmured as he leaned back against one of the legs of the wooden table, "_Not again…"_

"Dean…" a voice said softly.

The floorboards creaked softly as someone walked toward him, and in the back of his mind Dean finally realized that someone was there. He kept his eyes shut, unwilling to open them and see all the blood. "Go away." He whispered. "Whoever you are…just leave me alone."

Someone knelt beside him, and Dean felt a hand comfortingly grasp his shoulder.

"Dean…it's okay." The voice said again, and Dean realized who it was.

He opened his eyes slowly and stared into the face of his brother. "S-sam?" he said shakily.

"I'm here, Dean." Sam said softly. "I'm here."

For a moment Dean just stared back at him, letting the fact that Sam was still alive and kneeling right in front of him sink in. Then he reached out and pulled his brother into a tight hug.

For a moment Sam just knelt there, stunned, and then he returned the hug just as fiercely. "It's okay…" he said soothingly, cursing the life they lived as he felt his brother trembling. "It's okay."

Dean nodded and let out a shaky breath before pulling back reluctantly. "Sam…" he began, but stopped.

"I know." Sam said softly.

Dean sighed. "We need to stop doing this..." he murmured, running a hand over his face. "I—I don't honestly know how much more I can take."

Sam nodded sadly. He started to respond but saw Dean's eyes focus on something over his shoulder. He turned.

Ruby was standing in the doorway clutching a laundry basket that she had filled with objects.

Dean glared at her, waiting for her to make a trademark sarcastic comment and laugh at them.

"I…I'm sorry." Ruby said softly. She bit her lip, staring down at Sam's body with downcast eyes, and then walked into the room and gently placed the basket down on the floor.

Dean blinked, confused. Of all the things he had expected her to say, that wasn't one of them. "What, no witty remark?" he demanded.

Ruby smiled grimly. "Dean…" she said, and paused. "You really know absolutely nothing about me."

Bobby walked in carrying a box. "I found some things that might…be…useful…" he trailed off, the sight of Sam's body wiping all other thoughts from his mind. He sighed. "I'm getting too old for this..."

Sam watched as everyone in the room looked sadly at his broken body on the floor—it was unnerving, like he was watching his own funeral. "Uh…guys…" he said slowly, "I'm standing right here."

Dean's eyes snapped up. He nodded and smiled weakly. "Yeah, Sammy. You are."

Ruby stepped forward, a determined glint in her eyes. "So…" she began, "Any brilliant ideas on how to defeat all of Lilith's demonic followers using…" she looked around at the objects they had all selected, "…household items?"

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	11. Chapter 11

Sam, Dean, Bobby, and Ruby all stared down at the ordinary items that they had piled on the pink bed. They had relocated to the girl's upstairs bedroom in order to get out of the wreckage of the dining room…and because it was hard to concentrate with Sam's dead body in the room. They needed to focus on formulating a plan to defeat all of Lilith's followers, and that wasn't going to be any small task. Unfortunately there were no guns in the house because, ironically, the family that lived there didn't believe in violence. Therefore, any plan they might make had to be very, very creative.

"Alright…I've changed my mind." Ruby said slowly, looking at all of the items that were spread out on the bed, "We're _screwed_."

"Not…necessarily." Sam protested.

Ruby raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. "Really? Well then, Sam, you explain to me how we are going to kill anything with…" she looked down at the heap, "Colorful sidewalk chalk?"

"Devils Traps." Dean said. "Obviously."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Okay fine, that one makes since, I guess. But a toaster?"

Sam winced. "Well…I—"

"You've finally gone insane, haven't you? Hit your head one too many times?"

"No!" Sam defended himself. "No! We can use that, I swear."

"To do what, feed them burned toast? Oh God, Sam, they'll be terrified—"

"Would you just listen to me?" Sam said hotly, ignoring the growing smile on Dean's face, "We're stuck in this house, aren't we? I figured we might as well…change things to our advantage."

"Like what, we feed them toast so that they like us and leave?"

"Damn it, Ruby, this has nothing to do with toast!" Sam fumed. "I thought we could flood the kitchen or some other room and then plug that in and drop it in the water."

Dean shrugged. "That would stop them."

"Exactly." Sam said, throwing his arms up into the air.

Ruby smirked. "Okay, Sam…if you say so." she moved on to the next item. "A pressurized water hose?"

Bobby grinned. "It was down in the basement…I figured we can mix the water with a little holy water I've got left and shoot that at the demons…you know, all pressurized."

Ruby paused. "This is crazy…" she trailed off. "By the way, isn't the family that lives here still hiding somewhere?"

"Yep, they're in the basement." Bobby said.

"And you left them there?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I explained what was going on and they freaked and the guy started waving an ax at me…" he shrugged. "So I told them that they could stay there if they wanted…and I made a circle of salt and dust on the floor and told them to stay inside of it if they wanted to live."

"You left them down there defenseless?" Sam protested.

"Of course not!" Bobby said, "I let the guy keep his ax."

"Right." Ruby said, "Moving on…" she looked back at the pile, "Is that…a bottle of shampoo?"

"Yes." Sam hissed, grinding his teeth.

Dean snorted, and Sam shot him a glare. "Sorry Sam." He said, trying not to smile.

"And _why_—"

"It's just an example of what we could use for an idea that I had…of course the best stuff would probably be in the kitchen."

"Like what?"

"Peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, ketchup, all household cleaners—"

"You want to kill a demon with _peanut butter_?"

Sam sighed, trying to remain calm. "We can coat the stairs with those things…so that if the demons try to use them they'll have a hard time getting traction…it'll slow them down."

Ruby stared at him and raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow in disbelief. "Have you totally lost your mind?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of a way to explain it to her. "Look, we're completely outnumbered, and the only way we're going to get through this is if…" he trailed off, Ruby was still looking at him condescendingly. He decided to try a different approach. "Ruby…have you ever watched Home Alone?"

Dean's head jerked up and his eyes widened. "Home Alone?"

"Yeah. Home Alone."

A smile slowly crept across Dean's face as the idea sunk in. "That—that makes _sense_, Sam…"

Sam shook his head, "You sound surprised."

"Well, for a moment there you _did_ sound like you'd hit your head one too many times…"

"What the hell is Home Alone?" Ruby interrupted. "Is it a code name for something?"

"No…" Bobby said, "It's a Christmas movie…geared toward families."

Ruby shook her head. "Tell me you're joking…"

**Fifteen Minutes Later…**

"This is insane." Ruby said simply.

"Would you stop saying that?" Dean said, glaring at her, "Nobody cares what you think."

"Besides," Sam said, "Everything's in place…now we can only wait until the demons try to come inside."

"Are…are you…_sure…_they're coming in?" Mrs. Fremont whimpered, holding her daughter close.

Sam glanced over at the three people huddled together on the bed. The family had finally agreed to come up from the basement—but only after Ruby had gone down and graphically described many creative ways that the demons could kill them.

Dean nodded. "They're not just going to stand around forever." He said.

"But _why haven't they attacked yet_?" Mr. Fremont demanded. "I mean…why wait? They could have killed us a long time ago."

"They're waiting until they all get here." Bobby said flatly. "So that they'll have a greater chance of killing us."

The woman's eyes narrowed in confusion. "B-but…why? What are they afraid of?"

Ruby grinned darkly and clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Sammy here…they pretty much think he's the Anti-Christ…figuratively speaking, of course."

Sam glared at her and shrugged her off.

The man stared at Sam. "Is he?"

"Nope…" Ruby said. "He's about as scary as a teddy bear...we're all doomed."

"Ruby…" Dean growled.

"Oh dear, was I being pessimistic again?" Ruby said, smiling. "I'm so sorry…I'll be quiet now and let you live the last few moments of your pathetic existence in peace."

For a moment there was only silence, but then Dean looked up, suddenly curious. "Bobby...how far in the future are you two from, anyway?"

"They're from the _future_?" James said, disbelief evident in his voice. "That's impossible."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Haven't you been listening?" she said coolly, "Try to keep up, will you? _Yes, _Bobby and I are from the future, _yes, _demons are really real, and _no, _Santa Claus doesn't exist."

The little girl's eyes widened. "He doesn't?!" she exclaimed, horrified.

"No." Ruby said, "He doesn't. You know the jolly old man you see at the mall each Christmas? Well, that's just a pedophile in a bad costume." She grinned, "And now that I have shined some light on all three of your insignificant lives, would you please just _shut up_?"

"Just answer my question." Dean said testily.

Bobby leaned back against the wall. "About twelve hours."

Sam's eyes widened. "What? That's it?"

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah…you were very pushy."

"_Twelve hours_?" Dean said disbelievingly, "Do you mean to say that Sam figured out how to use his powers and _travel backwards in time_ only twelve hours after I died?"

"Yep." Bobby said, "And that was after he defeated several hundred demons by himself…"

"What?!" Sam and Dean gasped simultaneously.

Helen look up questioningly. "So…if he did that before…why doesn't he just do it again?"

"Because he's dead." Ruby said simply.

"Oh." The woman said. There was a small pause during which her brain started working, "But he doesn't _look _dead—"

"Look, would you just stop asking questions?" Ruby interrupted irritably.

"Guys!" Bobby said urgently, his voice hushed. He was peering out the window down into the yard, "They're moving!"

Everyone tensed.

Sam jumped to his feet and motioned the family toward a closet. "Alright, just hide in here and remember everything we're discussed."

The man nodded. "If they find us…we shoot them with this gun." He said, holding up the Colt. "But there are only a few bullets left, so we can't miss."

"And?" Sam prompted.

"We shouldn't make a sound or try to be heroic?"

"Right. That's good. Now just stay here—"

"I've got my teddy." the girl whispered, holding up a worn stuffed bear that was missing a glass eye and had obviously been loved over the years. "He'll protect us."

Sam smiled sadly. "Yeah…he will. You keep a good hold on him."

"Kay." The girl said, hugging the bear to her chest.

"Everything's going to be fine." He said, giving them what he hoped was a reassuring smile before he shut the door. He moved back into the middle of the floor, where the others were quickly grabbing their equipment.

"What I want to know…" Dean murmured, "Is why these people don't own _a single gun_. I mean…who doesn't have guns these days?"

"A lot of people, Dean." Bobby replied.

Dean shook his head. "But what happens if someone breaks in?"

"They call the police." Bobby said with a small smile. "You boys be careful, now."

"Yeah…you too, Bobby." Sam said softly.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I'll be careful too." she said, "But by all means don't bother worrying about me."

Bobby shot her a grin.

Without another word, all four of them snuck out into the hallway. It was completely dark aside from the soft glow of the television downstairs. The upstairs hall was empty, and all the bedroom doors were still closed.

Dean tapped Sam on the shoulder and then motioned for him to watch his back. Sam nodded and kept a look out as Dean slowly crept towards the banister and peered through the wooden bars.

He breathed in. Demons had crowded into every available square inch of space downstairs—and every eye was fixed upwards on him. They snarled.

He squared his shoulders and then turned to his brother, "Now." He whispered.

Sam nodded and pressed a button on the remote he held ready in his hand. The family's stereo system instantly switched on with a deafening chord of music as a radio station blared from the speakers at the highest volume setting.

The demons all jumped back in surprise, and they involuntarily glanced toward the source of the sound.

While they were distracted Sam hurriedly tossed the toaster over the banister—a long extension cord allowed it to fall freely, and it landed in the flooded downstairs area with a splash.

Electricity instantly crackled through the flooded rooms, and the demons shrieked in pain and hurriedly scrambled to get out of the water as electricity jolted through their bodies. Without giving them a second to recover, Bobby quickly dumped a huge bucket of boiling grease over the banister, and demons hissed in pain and fury as it smoked and sizzled on their skin.

By now some of them had reached the wooden stairs—which Sam had greased with every slippery condiment and household cleaner he could find. The first couple demons only made it to the third stair before falling backwards into the water again. Many of them couldn't move at all because of the Devils Traps that Dean had drawn on the ceiling in several locations, and therefore they were helpless to escape the powerful shocks racing through their bodies.

Bobby reached out and tapped Sam on the shoulder to get his attention. "I'll be right back!" he yelled over the music, and then turned and darted into one of the rooms.

Sam turned his attention back to the demons and frowned. Despite everything, several of them had made it to the stairs and kept climbing, and they slowly neared the top, their eyes glinting menacingly.

He and Dean hurriedly grabbed onto the large dresser that they had pulled out of the master bedroom and pushed it a couple more feet across the floor until it careened loudly down the staircase, crushing everyone in its path.

Ruby stepped forward to where the brothers were standing, an object with a lit fuse held tightly in her hand.

"Ruby—what the hell is that?!" Sam shouted at her over the music.

She grinned at him. "Oh, this little thing?" she shouted back, "I found it in the basement." She waited a few more seconds before heaving the object toward the area where the most demons had gathered.

Sam's eyes widened, and he grabbed onto his brother's jacket and roughly pulled him down to the ground just as a deafening bang shook the house.

Dean looked up in time to see colorful blue sparks going off in multiple directions. "Damn it, Ruby!" he shouted, "You're not supposed to set off _fireworks_ in the damn house! Are you trying to kill us?!"

Ruby just grinned as she lit another fuse and threw the second firework over the rail. "Well, not _you_, but that's the idea."

Another explosion went off, and without even waiting to look at what damage it had caused Dean leapt to his feet and pulled Sam back into the little girl's bedroom. Ruby followed them and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Escape time?" she questioned.

"Oh yeah." Dean replied. He hastily pulled open the closet door, revealing the family cowering in a corner. "Get up, we're leaving." He growled.

The smoke alarm went off loudly.

"What—what did you—" the man stuttered.

"Don't ask questions, just get up!" Dean said roughly. He looked around. "Where the hell is Bobby?"

"He—he was in here—" the woman said meekly, "But then he said something about demons getting in through the windows and ran out again—"

"Shit…" Dean muttered, running his hands over his face.

Sam ran to the window and threw it open. He looked down and gritted his teeth—demons were standing in the yard, glaring up at them. "We can't get out this way…they're waiting for us."

"I _told _you this stupid plan wasn't going to work." Ruby said, putting her hands on her hips, "But once again, _no one _listens to me…as usual. Why do I even waste my breath?"

"Shut-up, Ruby." Dean growled. "We just need a new plan."

"Isn't it a little late for that?" Ruby said grimly. As though to reinforce her words, demons started pounding on the bedroom door, trying to get in. They had poured salt and dust in front of the door, but it wasn't going to hold for long.

The little girl started sobbing and clutched tighter to her mother's leg. "Mommy…" she moaned.

"Sssshhhh…" the woman said softly, her hand shaking as she rubbed it over her daughter's hair to comfort her. "It's okay, sweetie."

Ruby frowned and looked back at Sam and Dean. "I'm sorry, but unless something drastic happens, we're all going to die."

"Well, let's make something drastic happen." Dean exclaimed.

"Like what?" Ruby said as the pounding increased. "We can't escape out the window and they're going to break down the door any second. There's nowhere for us to go—"

The door exploded inward and slammed against the wall.

For a moment nothing happened, and then one of the demons walked calmly into the room, a cruel smile on its face. Dean glared at it and stepped protectively in front of Sam.

Sam frowned. "Dean—"

"Take the family and get out of here, Sam." Dean said.

"No." Sam said forcefully, "Not without you."

The demon's smile widened—half of its face had been melted. "This ends _now_…" It hissed. "No more tricks."

Suddenly they all heard the sound of rushing water, and the demons in the hall started shrieking and crying out in pain as gallons of pressurized holy water slammed into them.

"Bobby…" Sam whispered, a small smile on his face.

A handful of demons managed to jump into the room beyond the reach of the spray, and they slammed the door shut behind them. Ruby turned around just in time to see several other demons climb in through the window. "Sam…"

"I see them." Sam said.

The demons all began stepping closer toward them, leaving no possible means of escape. The little girl's crying had become a constant whimper. "Close your eyes, baby." Her mother whimpered, turning her own head into her husband's shoulder.

Without wasting another second Sam lashed out at the nearest demon with his knife, severing right thorough its chest. He ripped the blade out, and before that demon had even hit the floor he slashed at another one—

Dean and Ruby attacked at the same time—he with a couple wicked kitchen knives, her with an ax. They managed to severely injure a few demons, but even as Dean was attacking he knew in the back of his mind that there was no way that they could pull this one off—they were too outnumbered, and more demons kept climbing up through the window.

"_Enough!_" The demon with the melted face screamed suddenly, and without warning all three of them were lifted into the air and then pressed against different walls.

Sam struggled against his invisible bonds, but he knew that there was no way he could escape. He looked up at Dean and Ruby and saw that they were in the same predicament he was. _Shit…_

The demon smiled. "As I said before…" he said, "This ends now."

Dean laughed bitterly, still struggling to escape, "So…you're the new head honcho, are you?" he said conversationally, "You know, we tend to kill demons like you."

The little girl whimpered again, and the demon glanced over at her. The family was crouched down next to a wall, staring up at him in terror. He ignored them and looked back at Dean. "Empty threats don't scare me, boy…I'm going to enjoy killing you." His smile widened.

"You're not going to kill anyone." Sam spat.

The demon glanced over at him. "Oh Sam, that reminds me…" he said, walking over to him, "I should really thank you for killing Lilith for me."

"You could let us go." Ruby suggested. "We'll call it even."

The demon laughed. "I don't think so." He said darkly, "I'm going to kill all of you…and I'm going to enjoy it _immensely_. In fact, the only question that remains is who I'm going to kill first…"

"Go to Hell." Dean spat.

"Oh, I've been there, thank you. It's not my favorite place…" He stepped closer to Sam. "I'm staying right here."

Dean struggled harder to escape. "Get away from him." He yelled.

The demon shook his head. "Why would I do that? Sam here is the biggest threat in the room…and I know better than to provoke him by attacking _you_, Dean. Lilith made that mistake, and look what happened to her. No, I don't intend to repeat that error."

Sam glared at the demon as it stopped inches away from him. "You'll never win."

"I already have." The demon said coldly. He took out a knife and held it to Sam's throat.

"No!" Dean shouted frantically from where he was helplessly pinned against the wall, "Don't!"

The demon paused for a moment and then withdrew the knife. He stared thoughtfully up at Sam. "You know…" he said, "I could just slit your throat and watch you bleed out—but where's the fun in that?"

Dean's scowl deepened. "If you hurt him I swear I'll rip you apart!"

The demon smiled, his melted face contorting hideously as he stared at Sam. "I've heard a lot about you Winchesters…and your tragic family history."

"That's none of your business." Sam spat.

"It's everybody's business." He replied smugly.

"What does that have to do with anything? If you're going to kill me just get it over with."

The demon laughed. "But that's just it, Sam. Your Mother and girlfriend died in the same tragic way…and it'll be so poetic when you meet the same horrific end."

Sam blinked. "W-what?" suddenly he felt his body begin sliding upwards toward the ceiling—

The demon smiled and turned to Dean, who was staring at his brother in terror. "Watch closely Dean—something tells me this moment will always be _burned _on your memory…"

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	12. Chapter 12

"_But that's just it, Sam. Your Mother and girlfriend died in the same tragic way…and it'll be so poetic when you meet the same horrific end." _

_Sam blinked. "W-what?" suddenly he felt his body begin sliding upwards toward the ceiling—_

_The demon smiled and turned to Dean, who was staring at his brother in terror. "Watch closely Dean—something tells me this moment will always be burned on your memory…" _

"NO!" Dean shrieked, struggling fiercely, "SAM! NO!"

Sam's heart pounded loudly in his chest as he felt himself being dragged slowly up the wall and onto the ceiling like a rag doll. His eyes snapped to his brother's. "Dean?"

Dean continued struggling, helplessly trying to reach his brother. "It's okay, Sammy, it's okay—"

"He's going to be burned alive, I hardly think that's okay, Dean." The demon said, smiling.

Dean let out a yell of rage and glared at demon, his eyes burning with hatred, "YOU BASTARD! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"Sam's too dangerous to be alive, Dean…surely you've realized that by now. But by all means, go ahead and try to save him." The demon said nonchalantly, flicking his hand at Dean. "You have thirty seconds."

The pressure holding Dean to the wall ceased, and he fell to the floor. He leapt up and ran over to where his brother was pinned on the ceiling.

"Dean—I can't move!" Sam said fearfully.

Dean hurriedly reached up and wrapped his hands around his brother's arm. He pulled as hard as he could, but Sam didn't even move an inch.

"Twenty seconds and counting…" the demon said tauntingly.

Dean's face contorted in the effort of freeing his brother. "Damn it, Sammy, I can't—I can't—"

Ruby watched them struggle from where she was still pinned. She felt useless. There was absolutely nothing that she could do to help Sam, but… "Sam, you can get out of this!" she yelled. "You just have to use your powers!"

"What?" Sam said, looking over at her, "I don't know how!"

"All the better reason to kill you now, Sammy boy." The demon said simply. "Twelve seconds."

Sam looked back at Dean. He could feel his brother's fingernails digging into his flesh as he tried to free him—but Sam knew that it was hopeless. "Dean—get out of here." He said emotionally, "I don't—I don't want you to see—"

"Sammy—" Dean choked, his voice cracked, "Not like this—you can't die like this—"

"Time's up." The demon said harshly.

A powerful force slammed Dean backwards onto the ground where he remained pressed into the carpet, unable to move—

Underneath his little brother.

"No!" he shouted, eyes wide with terror. He felt as though he couldn't breathe. This couldn't be happening, it was a nightmare—

"Well boys, this has been loads of fun," the demon said gleefully, "But now it's time for the big finale!"

Sam stared down at his brother, and their eyes met. Dean's eyes said it all—Sam knew that expression. It was the same expression that John had gotten when he had seen Mary burning above his crib, it was the same expression that _he _had gotten when he had seen Jessica trapped on the ceiling above his bed—

"No more." He whispered.

"It was nice knowing you, Sam." The demon said simply. "See you around."

Sam burst into flames.

"NO!" Dean screamed. "NOO! SAMMY!"

The demon laughed, watching as the flames completely consumed the young man in a whirling inferno of fire and smoke. "What's the matter, Dean?" he said mockingly, "Go ahead and save him, he's right above you."

Dean let out an ear-splitting shriek of anger and pain. He fought fiercely to break free, and his whole body contorted as his muscles strained harder than they had ever done before—but he still couldn't move, he couldn't save Sam. His streaming eyes squinted up through the dense smoke and scorching flames, trying to catch one last glimpse of his brother, but all he could see was fire.

The demon smiled from where he was standing. "As I expected…you _failed_, Dean."

Dean coughed harshly as the black smoke filled his lungs. He blinked his eyes hard, but they were so blurry that he couldn't even see. "_No_…" he muttered weakly. "_Sam_…" In the back of his mind he could hear the demons in the room laughing and jeering at him as the little girl screamed in horror.

After a few long minutes the demon reached out his hand and waved it in front of him. Instantly the flames vanished, leaving nothing but smoke and a gaping charred hole in the ceiling.

Dean stared upward, his blurry vision allowing him to see that Sam was gone. The adrenaline that had pumped through his veins moments before instantly disappeared, leaving him feeling empty and alone. Rage flared up inside of him, greater than he had ever felt in his life, and he glared fiercely at the demon. "I'll kill you…" he said coldly, his voice shaking with emotion. "I'll kill _all_ of you…"

The demon smiled. "What is with you and all the empty threats?" he questioned lightly. "You're a pathetic man who's pinned helplessly against the floor—I don't think you're going to be hurting anyone. What are you going to do, scream at me?" he pulled out a gun and aimed it right between Dean's eyes. "I, however, am not one to make empty threats—and I'm going to kill you."

He pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out of the barrel with a bang—

And stopped a foot away from Dean's head. It hovered in the air for a moment and then dropped harmlessly to the carpet. "What the hell?" the demon muttered. He turned toward Ruby, his eyes flashing angrily. "You."

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "Me?"

"You did that!" he said furiously. "You're _still_ going against us, even with your leader dead!"

Ruby stared at him. "Wait, you think that I…" she laughed. "Seriously? If I could stop bullets, do you think I'd still be trapped against this damn wall?"

The demon slapped her as hard as he could across her face. "You disgust me." He spat. "You betray us—for what? You're on the losing side, Ruby—and you're going to pay dearly for it."

Ruby spat out a mouthful of blood into his face and laughed. "Cash or check?"

He raised his hand to strike her again, but the bedroom door suddenly creaked open behind them.

Dean's head snapped to the side and he stared. The door had only opened halfway, and nothing was there. He turned back to the demons and saw that they were all staring towards the door, their eyes all wide with confusion as they gazed at something he couldn't see. "Why are _they_ here?" one of the demons muttered. "Lilith's dead."

Dean looked over at Ruby for some kind of explanation, but her gaze was focused on the door just like everyone else.

Suddenly the demon closest to the door was jerked roughly to the ground by an invisible force. He shrieked as layers of skin were effortlessly ripped from his torso in seconds, allowing blood to soak into the carpet beneath him. Dean could hear bone cracking, as though something was gnawing away at the victim—

Dean shuddered as he realized what was happening. "Hellhounds…"

The lead demon stepped forward, his piercing eyes focused fearlessly on the beasts as he ignored the sickening crunch of sharp teeth on human bone. "Stop." he said coldly. "Go back to Hell and stay there until you are needed." The hellhounds' red eyes all focused on him, and then they growled 

menacingly and inched forward, their muscles tightening as they prepared to attack. The demon's eyes narrowed in confusion. "I said _stop_!" he yelled.

"They're not under your control." A voice said darkly.

The demon spun around, but he wasn't fast enough and an intense force flung him against the wall next to Ruby. The impact threw him to the ground, and he shakily climbed to his feet and stared wildly around for his attacker. "_No_…" he breathed as his eyes locked on a figure in the center of the room. "It's impossible…"

Dean's mouth fell open in shock, and he stared wordlessly at the man standing next to him. Doubt and relief flooded through him all at once as he stared up into the familiar face. _It couldn't be…_

A strong hand grasped his arm and pulled him gently to his feet. "You okay, Dean?"

Dean nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he stared at his brother—his living, breathing brother. Sam looked as he always did—there wasn't a single burn on his body. His clothes weren't even singed.

Sam turned his attention back on the lead demon. "You've lost." He said simply, his black eyes locked on him.

The demon laughed bitterly and stood up straighter. "No, Sam—I haven't. I _never_ lose." He flung his hands out, and instantly Sam was hit with the greatest wave of agony he had ever experienced. He fell to his knees as pain twisted and stabbed through his body, and his vision darkened and blurred as the world spun beneath him.

Dean saw his brother go down. "Sam!" he exclaimed and quickly bent down to help him.

"Oh no you don't!" the demon screamed, and without another word Dean was thrown across the room right into the midst of all the other demons. They descended upon him like vultures, intent on ripping him apart.

They didn't get a chance. The hellhounds all leapt forward with a howl, their red eyes flashing dangerously as they formed a protective circle around Dean. They snarled at the demons, daring them to come closer.

The lead demon scowled as he watched his followers hesitate. "You fools!" he shrieked. "They're just dogs! What the hell are you waiting for?!" He shook his head in disgust and then strode towards Sam, intent on finishing him.

Ruby finally managed to pull free from the demon's hold and ran forward, sensing what he intended to do. She picked her ax up off the floor and without any hesitation she drove it as hard as she could into the back of the demon's head.

He stopped. "Ruby…" he said amusedly, "I forgot about you." Without even turning around he reached up, gripped the wooden handle, and pulled the ax blade out of his head with a sickening sucking noise. He tilted his head to the side until his neck cracked. "Ah…that's better." He said, and then viciously swung the blade around.

Ruby leapt backwards, and the blade missed her by inches.

He snarled. "You little whore!" he hissed angrily, swinging the blade again, "For your betrayal I'm going to send you straight to the deepest, most agonizing corner of Hell—where you'll sob and beg for my forgiveness for all eternity!"

Ruby threw herself on the ground and rolled to avoid another attack. As she got up her eyes hastily scanned the bedroom, searching for the one thing that could help her—the knife.

"Looking for this?" he said cruelly, pulling out her knife. He sneered and stepped closer to her, the handle clutched tightly in his hand. "You want it back? Fine. I'll give it you."

He lunged at Ruby with the knife. She jumped to the side and looked around for something—_anything_—to get her out of this—and came up with nothing. "Dean!" she shouted, ducking as the demon swung the knife at her head, "As much as I hate to say this—" she jumped backwards and picked up her ax again, "—stop standing around like a dumb-ass and give me a little help here!"

Dean glanced around at all the demons standing around him. Their black eyes glared at him cruelly, and he knew that if it wasn't for the hellhounds—that he couldn't even see or hear—he would be dead. There was no way that he could save Ruby—not without the knife. There was the Colt of course, but the family had snuck out the door at some point with it—not that he blamed them for wanting to survive. Sam was still kneeling on the floor with his eyes squeezed shut from some kind of demonic attack, so he was out of the equation for the moment. That left him with absolutely no recourses…_unless…_

He looked at the empty spaces where the hellhounds had to be and cleared his throat. "Hellhounds—uh—I know you're there—and I know you listen to Sam, but he's in trouble at the moment…" he trailed off, unsure of what he was even trying to say. He looked up and saw that all of the demons were smiling at him, almost laughing, and rage exploded inside of him. "Damn it! I'm Sam's _brother_, okay? I know he's the one with all the power, but if you hellhounds listen to him you damn well better listen to me! I _command_ all of you to go help Ruby. Now!"

The lead demon heard his outburst and hesitated. He glanced over at the hellhounds, fear momentarily visible in his eyes, but nothing happened. The beasts remained stoic and motionless, their eyes blankly staring up at Dean as though he hadn't even spoken. He laughed. "Nice try, boy—futile effort, but nice try! Don't worry, once I'm done with your lady friend I'll deal with you."

"I'm not his lady friend!" Ruby spat. "We're barely even on speaking terms!" She ducked under the blade as he swung it again, and as she straightened up she glanced back over at Dean—

The hellhounds had all turned, and their gleaming red eyes were all focused on the lead demon.

The demon glanced over and saw them staring back. As he watched they all left their circle around Dean and crept toward him, growling deep in their throats. His eyes narrowed in confusion. "That's impossible." He breathed. "You can't control them…you're just a human."

Intent on protecting their leader from harm, all of the demons attacked the hellhounds before they had a chance to reach him, and Dean found himself trapped in the middle of an intense battle between the demons and the hellhounds. Swearing under his breath, he crouched down on the floor, trying to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible as sweaty, blood covered bodies pressed up around him on all sides.

Dean felt something hot and sticky brush up against his hand, and he jumped. A second later he felt hot breath on his hand and sharp teeth gently grabbed a hold of the sleeve of his jacket and pulled. Before he realized what was happening Dean was dragged roughly between the fighting bodies and out into the open part of the room. He took in a deep breath as he felt the hellhound release its hold on his jacket. "Uh…thanks?" He said hesitantly, unable to see it.

He glanced up and saw Ruby standing firmly in between Sam and the demon, her hand wrapped around the demon's wrist in order to either take the knife from him or stop him from using it. Throwing caution and planning to the wind, Dean leapt to his feet and ran over.

The demon saw Dean charge out of the corner of his eye. He kicked Ruby hard and then before she had time to react he turned and slashed at Dean with the blade. Dean avoided it easily and then slammed into the demon, knocking him to the floor. "Ruby—you have to undo whatever mind trick he did to Sam!" he shouted to her.

Ruby threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "What do I look like, a freakin' wizard?" she shot back, "I can't just snap my fingers and make Sam okay, Dean. It's not that simple!"

The demon threw Dean off of him and slammed him face first into a wall. He moved to kill him but a hellhound knocked him back to the ground, stopping him from getting to Dean.

Dean climbed painfully to his feet. "Well, make it that simple!" he shouted back at Ruby. "You're always saying you have the best ideas, now's your chance to prove it!"

"It's always up to me, isn't it?" Ruby spat, "Fine! You want me to do something?" she crawled over to Sam, instantly noticing how pale he was. His eyes were shut tightly and his face was set in an expression of unbearable agony.

She hesitated for a moment and then slapped him in the face to get his attention. "Listen up, Sam!" she shouted in his ear, above the yells of the demons and howls of the hellhounds. "I know you're suffering and in extreme anguish, but _we need you_ damn it, so just suck it up!" she stared at Sam for some sign and saw his eyelids twitch slightly.

"Hurry up, Ruby!" Dean shouted impatiently, attacking the demon with an ordinary kitchen knife as a hellhound ripped at its flesh.

Ruby ignored him and kept her attention focused on Sam. "We can't defeat all of these demons without you, so if you don't wake up we're going to die—painfully—and I know you might not care too much if I get ripped to shreds and sent to hell because of you, but Dean's going to die too and for some reason you seem to care about him—apparently he has adoring qualities that I just can't see."

Sam's eyelids flickered more rapidly, but he didn't make a sound or open his eyes.

Ruby stared at him, hard. She ignored the loud sounds of the battle going on around them and kept her gaze focused on Sam. He wasn't going to just wake up—she knew that, even if Dean didn't. The demon had lodged himself deep inside of his mind, and he had no intention of letting him go.

"Damn it…" She sighed, knowing what she had to do. Ruby reached up and wrapped both her hands firmly around Sam's head and then shut her eyes. She concentrated, digging deep into Sam's mind, through his memories, hopes, and fears, until—

A wave of pain slammed into her like a thousand daggers, twisting and digging deep into her flesh. She flinched but didn't let go of Sam. Instead, she gritted her teeth and pulled, drawing the pain back into herself, away from Sam.

Sam felt the pain begin to recede. His mind snapped into a blurry focus and he hurriedly tried to figure out what was going on. He remembered helping Dean up—and then the demon had done something—

His eyes snapped open, realization flooding through him as he saw Ruby kneeling in front of him with a look of agonizing pain on her face. "No…" he muttered, trying to force her hands away from his face. "Don't."

"Shut-up." Ruby growled. "Let me…finish…"

The pain continued fading, more rapidly now, and Sam tried to pull himself out of her grip. She held on tightly, digging her fingernails into the sides of his face to prevent him from shaking her lose.

"Ruby—"

Ruby let go with a shudder and squeezed her eyes shut. "It's done." She ground out, her teeth clamped together tightly. "Now go…show them…who's boss."

"But you—"

"_Now_!" she hissed, pushing him roughly away from her.

Sam nodded. He stood up, feeling power flowing freely inside of him. It wasn't a feeling he was used to, and he wished he had more time to learn how to control it—but it was now or never. He turned to face the demons one final time.

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	13. Chapter 13

Life is complicated.

It twists and it turns like a roller coaster racing down a track toward some distant fate. Just when you think you have everything figured out, the ground drops out from under you and you plunge downward again. Sam Winchester knew all about plunges.

Dean…why don't we have a Mom—

If you go out that door you can _never_ come back, _never_—

I love you…I love you _so much_, Jess—

I'm a freak—some kind of connection with the yellow eyed demon—

Dad's dead—in Hell—what could you possibly say to make it better Sam—

Dean, you're reckless—over and over again. I can't lose you too. Don't shut me out—_please_—

Save Sam, kill Sam—I wish to God he'd never opened his mouth! You have to promise me—

Tick-tock. One year—that's it, that's all, no more time. No solution. How _could_ you, Dean—

Life is complicated.

Sam was tired of plunging down that track. He wanted off. He wanted to climb back up to the top and start over again. He wanted a second chance at a normal life—where everyone he knew didn't die because of him. Where he could talk about ordinary things like the weather and think of ghosts, vampires, and demons as fictional creatures in television programs.

But that was impossible. It was too late, far too late. His normal life was gone along with all the dreams that had slipped like glittering stars between his fingers.

Patch me up, Mom. Patch me up, Dad. Patch me up, Jess.

No.

No more clinging to the past.

It was time to let go of all the pain and fear that had weighed him down for so many years. It was time to embrace his future, no matter how uncertain it looked.

Sam Winchester stepped forward, his black eyes focused on the lead demon that was battling his brother and a few of the hellhounds. Dean was tiring, and Sam knew that at any second he might make a fatal mistake.

The other demons were too busy fighting the hellhounds to notice as Sam slowly made his way across the floor. Their leader had his back to him, snarling as he threw the hellhounds into a wall and turned triumphantly to Dean. "End of the road, boy!" he exclaimed with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. He swung his knife down, the blade pointed straight towards Dean's heart—

Dean vanished, and the sharp blade sliced through the air where he had been standing.

The demon blinked, momentarily stunned. "What—" he trailed off and then turned around slowly, realizing what had happened. His gaze locked on Sam's. "You."

Dean reappeared right beside his brother, and Sam reached out a hand to steady him before he could fall face forward onto the floor.

"S-sam?" Dean questioned shakily, disoriented. He blinked his eyes hard to try to clear his vision. "What…what just happened?"

"I stopped you from becoming swiss cheese." Sam said, shrugging, keeping his eyes locked on the demon.

Dean shook his head to clear his spinning mind and then instinctively looked up at Sam to see if he was hurt at all. "Yeah, well, next time warn me before you pull a Houdini and use me as a prop."

The demon scowled at Sam. "There won't be a next time." He spat fiercely.

Sam shrugged and smiled faintly at the demon. He knew that he should be worried—after all, he was about to go up against an experienced demon—but for the first time in his life, standing in a room full of demons and hellhounds, he _wasn't scared_. "Dean, get behind me." He said authoritatively.

Dean blinked. His eyes narrowed in protest—there was _no way _that he was letting his little brother fight this freak by himself. He looked up at Sam and opened his mouth to say no—they were in this mess together, after all—but one glance at his brother stopped him. Sam was staring at the demon, his head held high, matching the intensity of its gaze. He looked calm, confident. There wasn't a shed of doubt or fear in his brother's black eyes. Dean exhaled slowly as the realization hit him: this wasn't his fight…it was Sam's.

For the first time in his life he stepped back, his shoulder brushing against Sam's as he moved. "Be careful, Sammy." He said softly.

The demon grinned. "Don't worry _Sammy_," he spat mockingly, "After you're dead I'll take _great_ care of your brother."

Sam cocked his head to the side, studying the demon with a bemused expression. "If you try to kill me you're going to lose." He said matter-of-factly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're much weaker than Lilith…and she's dead. Just surrender now."

The demon snarled. "Lilith was weak. I can defeat you _easily_." He boasted, and without another word he thrust his hands out.

Sam felt power slam into his body—hard—but he was prepared this time and blocked it before it could do any damage. In the back of his mind he was aware that all of the other demons had quieted and were staring towards them—watching, waiting.

The demon let out a howl of rage and attacked him again with a larger burst of energy, but Sam anticipated the attack and responded with a wave of enormous energy of his own. The two blasts met in the middle with an explosion of light and sound and then ricocheted off and blasted a hole in the nearest wall.

Sam laughed. "Ready to surrender?"

The demon snarled. "Ready to die?" he spat, shaking in anger. He waved his arm and a heavy bookcase shot towards Sam.

Sam raised his hand at the last moment and the bookcase froze, suspended in the air inches away from him. He lowered his arm and the bookcase dropped harmlessly to the floor. "You can't beat me." He said simply. "Your powers are nothing but parlor tricks compared to mine."

The demon thrust his hands into the air in one final desperate attempt. White-hot flames shot out of his fingertips, surrounding the brothers with unbearable heat and smoke. Sam stopped the flames inches away from his skin—he could feel Dean pressing up against his back. There was no escape, certain death pressed in on them from all sides.

Sam smiled.

The demon watched with satisfaction as the flames enveloped his challenger and continued to grow, filling half the room with a flaming inferno. He wasn't taking any chances this time. Beads of sweat rolled down his face from the insufferable heat, but he didn't bother to wipe them away—he relished it. This was his creation, his power—how dare the boy question his ability? How dare he demean him in front of all his followers?

He turned toward his fellow demons, the flames casting ghostly shadows across his face. "Let's go." He said simply, "We have work to do."

He moved to walk away, but something caught his eye—the flames were receding. He watched in surprise as the flames quickly vanished, gone in the blink of an eye. Sam and Dean were left standing close together, unhurt, surrounded by the charred remains of what had been the little girl's bedroom. Sam's eyes were shut, his hands clutched into tight fists at his side.

"Impossible." The demon breathed. "Where did the fire go?"

Sam opened his eyes.

The demon took an involuntary step back. "Holy shit." he muttered in disbelief.

Sam's eyes were flaming pinpoints of red and orange light. He held out one hand, palm up, and concentrated, and a large ball of raging flames appeared floating inches above his hand. "Into me." He said simply, answering the demon's question.

No one moved. No one even breathed. Every demon in the room kept its eyes glued on Sam in anticipation, waiting to see what he would do.

Sam's fiery eyes bore into the lead demon's, flames dancing above his open palm. "Surrender. Now." He said, his voice cold and commanding. It wasn't a request.

The demon looked at Sam with a strange glint in his eye. He smiled slightly, knowing when he was beaten. "Never." He said firmly.

Sam nodded, and then with one swift motion he hurled the fireball straight at the demon. It cut through his chest like butter, killing him instantly, and left behind a sizzling hole in his flesh. The body fell lifelessly to the floor and lay still. Nothing else happened—no black cloud erupted out of the host's mouth, no sign occurred to show that the demon had escaped.

It hadn't. The demon had ceased to exist.

Sam stared at the body for a moment and then held one hand out towards it. After a few seconds the hole in the man's chest began closing and repairing itself and the melted side of his face began healing rapidly. Tissue regenerated and blood began flowing again. Sam kept this up for a few more seconds and then lowered his hand back to side, finished.

The man bolted upright with a gasp. "W-what—" he stared around wildly, his gaze darting rapidly from the people with horrible black eyes to the growling beasts with sharp claws and teeth dripping with hot saliva. His eyes finally settled on the man with the flaming eyes standing only feet away from him. He whimpered.

Sam winced. "It's okay, you're safe—"

The man leapt up and bolted out the door, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"People these days..." Ruby groaned. "Ungrateful jerks."

Sam turned in surprise and watched her slowly climb to her feet. "Are you okay?"

She glared at him. "Peachy, Sam. Just freakin' peachy." She glanced over at the other side of the room. "This isn't over yet."

Sam turned. All the other demons were staring directly at him, their black eyes wide open and staring. The hellhounds were standing at their feet, growling deep in their throats.

Sam stood his ground and stared back at the demons fearlessly, ready for anything. He waited, blood pounding through his veins in anticipation. He had never felt so alive, so _elated_.

This was what he had been doing his whole life—fighting demons, saving people. Embracing his powers didn't make him evil, and it didn't alter what he believed in. It made him whole, complete. He had rejected that part of him for so long, held back out of raw fear of what he might become, that he had never even considered that his powers wouldn't consume him and turn him evil.

His character was too strong, too full of good, to be altered so completely.

He was the same person he'd always been, he was still Sam—just stronger.

"This could get ugly." Ruby muttered, warily eyeing the demons as she waited for them to strike.

Seconds slowly crawled by...

Then, one by one, the demons dropped to their knees on the ground before Sam, averting their eyes from his gaze in complete submission.

Sam's eyes narrowed and his mouth fell open slightly as he realized what was happening—the demons all saw him as their new leader now that he had proved his superiority. He expelled his breath, slightly shocked. Of all the things he had expected the demons to do, this wasn't one of them.

"Oh…my…God." Ruby murmured, astonished.

Sam concentrated on breathing. The entire demon population was at his disposal, not just the demons in the room, and they were all waiting for his command. The implications of that were just too massive for Sam to comprehend, and for a moment he was terrified.

This was exactly what his father had feared.

Sam's mind went blank. He didn't know what to do—

A strong hand grasped his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. _Dean_. Sam turned his head slowly, afraid of what he might see in his brother's gaze.

"Sam." Dean said softly, sensing his brother's reluctance. "Sammy, look at me."

Sam met his gaze, searching for any scrap of fear, horror, or disgust in his eyes. If he saw a hint of any one of those things from his big brother…from _Dean_…from the only person that had always supported and stood by him…

Dean inwardly winced when Sam finally looked at him—not because of his flaming eyes, but because his brother looked like a wounded puppy dog waiting to be kicked. Sam was terrified. Dean knew his brother better than anyone else in the world, and he understood what was going through his mind—the doubts, the insecurities. He once again cursed his father's final words and obvious lack of faith. "Sammy…" he began softly.

Sam tensed, waiting.

Dean paused, and then gave him a trademark smirk. "Dude…you're such a show-off."

Sam let out the breath he had been holding as the corners of his mouth turned upward slightly. Somehow Dean always knew exactly what he needed to hear.

Sensing that he had said the right thing, Dean gave Sam an encouraging smile and squeezed his shoulder once more before letting go.

Sam turned back to the demons, his confidence restored. They hadn't moved at all, and were still waiting for him to speak. He stepped toward them, eyes flashing. "Look at me and pay attention." He snapped commandingly.

Every eye in the room snapped instantly to his, their gazes unwavering and absolute. In the back of his mind Sam could feel the gazes of all the other demons outside—and everywhere else—all focused on him.

Absolute power.

Sam felt a shiver travel up his spine. He could command them to do _anything_ and they would do it willingly and without question—_anything_.

His eyes narrowed as he studied them all. "I could rip you all apart without even trying." he said coldly, "Remember that. There's _nowhere_ you can go that I can't find you."

Ruby stared. Sam's voice—it was so cold, so eerie. It was the kind of voice that you couldn't help but obey, the kind of voice that you didn't dare disappoint. She wanted to look away, but her eyes were fixated on him, mesmerized.

"You will hang on my every word. You will do everything I command." Sam said darkly, pacing back and forth in between the demons. "I was always meant to be your leader. There will be _no more _mistakes, no more errors. I have plans for you. _All_ of you."

The demons remained silent, waiting.

Sam glared at them, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Of course, I have to assume that some of you plan to oppose me…foolishly. Nothing can destroy me." He paused, and then frowned. "And for all who may have such foolish thoughts..." he trailed off, and then without warning a jet of fire hurled out of his hands, incinerating one of the demons a quarter of a second.

No one moved.

"Let that stand as a warning." Sam finished darkly. He glanced around cruelly, his fiery gaze meeting the gaze of each demon around him. "Listen carefully as I give orders…I will _not_ repeat myself."

The demons' gazes seemed to intensify and the tension in the room had reached a peak. Ruby guessed that if someone had so much as coughed something would have exploded.

"I want you all to go to Hell and stay there until I _personally_ call you back." Sam said authoritatively, his voice firm and clear. "My plans for you are for a future date…one that I have set and none of you need to know about. I will provide you with the remaining details when necessary, and only then." He paused, and his fiery eyes narrowed dangerously. "If _any_ of you come back to Earth before I call you—and jeopardize the success of all that I have planned…" he trailed off. "I will _not_ be forgiving. Do you understand?"

"Yes." The demons all said firmly, their black eyes determined and obedient.

"Then go." Sam said. "I will summon you when it is time."

The result was instantaneous—the hellhounds growled and then vanished in the blink of an eye, and black clouds expelled out of all the hosts as the demons complied with Sam's orders. He stood amongst them all, surrounded by blackness and corruption, until the giant mass poured out the broken window and was gone. The bodies of the abandoned hosts all slumped back onto the floor, unconscious but alive.

Sam looked back at Dean and Ruby, who were both staring at him with mirrored expressions of disbelief and shock. He grinned. "How was that?"

Dean shook his head, a small smile spreading across his face as he realized what his brother had just done. "Damn, Sammy…that…that was..." he trailed off, searching for a word to express his astonishment. "Incredible."

Sam's smile widened.

Ruby ran a hand over her face and raised her eyebrows. "Incredible?" she muttered, "More like frightening as hell."

Sam smirked. "And you said I was only as scary as a teddy bear…"

**Thanks for reading! The next chapter is going to be the last, and it will wrap up all the loose ends (what happened to Bobby, what happens now that Sam's all-powerful, etc). I look forward to posting it, but until then…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here it is—the happy ending. I'd like to thank everyone who's read and reviewed this story, especially all my constant reviewers! You guys are great. **

**Enjoy. **

Dean slowly opened the bedroom door. It opened soundlessly, without a single creak or groan of rusted hinges.

That made sense. The house was, after all, relatively new, clean, and comfortable. It was the kind of house that happy couples bought to raise their children.

Well…it had been.

Now it just resembled a bomb site.

The fireworks that Ruby set off had blasted two gaping holes in the house—one in the ceiling, the other in the staircase. It had started raining softly outside, and drops of rain cascaded down through the hole in the roof to ripple in the flooded downstairs area. A few scattered flames still struggled against all the water to consume what was left of the ruined house.

"Damn…" Dean muttered, shining his flashlight around so that he could see the devastation. The beam cut through the darkness, casting an eerie glow over everything.

Ruby shook her head. "I hope they have great insurance."

Dean let out a breath and tiredly ran a hand over his face. "I hope they're still alive."

Sam didn't answer. His gaze was fixed further down the dark hallway.

Dean looked over at his brother. "Sam?" he muttered. "What is it?" When Sam didn't answer Dean pointed his flashlight in the direction of his brother's gaze.

The beam landed on a shape lying on the floor.

Dean's breath caught in his throat.

Bobby was lying motionless on the carpet, a deep red stain spread out around him. His eyes were open, lifeless, and his neck was bent at an odd angle.

"No." Dean whispered, horrified. His feet felt like they were frozen to the floor. He wanted to rush over and try to help him, but deep down he knew that it was too late. Bobby's baseball cap had fallen off his head, and suddenly all Dean could think about was how strange he looked without it.

Ruby stared down at the man she had repeatedly argued with, shouted curses at, and tried to ignore for the past few days. She felt something flare up inside of her. "He died helping us, didn't he?" she muttered. "Trying to singlehandedly keep all the demons at bay and rid the world of evil."

Sam looked over at her and swallowed, suddenly aware of how dry his mouth had become. "Yes." He said simply.

There was nothing else to say.

Ruby pursed her lips and glared. She was angry—furious. How could this have happened? She opened her mouth, ready to rant about how stupid the man had been. There was absolutely _no way_ any reasonably sane person would have stood up against all those demons, it was _suicide_. Suicide!

"That's so…so…" she trailed off, her unusually shaky voice unable to form any words to express what she was really thinking. She sighed. "Typical." She said tiredly, her voice lacking its usual venom. She eyed the man with even greater respect and smiled softly. "Figures he'd die like that." She paused, and then, because she had no idea what else to say, said the only thing she could think of. "Bastard."

Sam blinked and then glanced at her.

She looked away.

The stood there silently for a few moments, each lost in thought.

Suddenly, without any warning at all, the entire walkway they were standing on lurched sideways away from the wall with a loud grinding sound.

Ruby and Sam managed to stay on their feet, but Dean fell to the floor and slid across the tilted surface toward the banister—

Sam instinctively reached out a hand and grabbed onto his brother's arm, stopping his fall right before he could plunge into the downstairs area.

Dean's hunting instincts kicked in, and he hurriedly moved his feet underneath him and carefully climbed to his feet. "What the hell?" he shouted angrily.

The house creaked and groaned all around them. Thankful that he had kept a grip on his flashlight, Dean quickly lifted his arm and slowly swept the beam from left to right.

The light revealed what he already knew—they were in serious trouble.

"Not good..." Sam muttered. "Not good at all…"

A loud splintering sound drew their attention, and they stared as the wooden staircase collapsed completely with a crash and the walkway began peeling further away from the wall.

"The damn house is falling apart!" Dean said.

"No _shit_, Sherlock." Ruby spat back at him. "Any other useless observations you'd like to make?"

Dean returned her glare. "Well, at least I'm not the one who had the bright idea of setting off fireworks in the house!" he replied hotly. "Genius, Ruby. Pure _genius_."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Can you two just give it a rest, already?" He said testily, "We need to get out of here."

Dean rolled his eyes. He glared at Sam and then without saying a word he turned and reached toward the bedroom door, careful not to make any sudden moves. "Follow me. We can jump out the window, that's probably the saf—"

The walkway collapsed.

It pitched sideways, dumping them like ragdolls toward the flooded downstairs.

Sam gasped. He squeezed his eyes shut and flung his arms out, waiting for the impact—

It never came.

"Uh…Sam?" Dean muttered.

Sam opened his eyes. All three of them were hovering in the air a foot away from the floor. Wood and plaster from the ceiling was splashing in the water all around them.

"Oh…" Sam muttered, staring around. "I just—"

"Shit, Sam! Put us _down_!" Ruby yelled in exasperation as she protectively covered her head with her hands. "The house is _collapsing_! This isn't the time to be doing a Peter Pan flying impression!"

Dean grinned. "Why not, Ruby? You could be Tinkerbell, small and annoying as hell…"

Ruby gritted her teeth. "You know what? I liked you better dead—"

Her words were cut off as all three of them abruptly completed the fall and landed with a splash on the floor. Dean thanked whoever was listening that the power was still out, because the last thing he needed was another heart attack.

Sam leapt to his feet just as a massive chunk of plaster slammed into the ground right where he had been lying. "Come on!" he yelled, and sprinted forward through the collapsing rooms, avoiding the bodies that were strewn all over the place. He could hear Dean and Ruby's footsteps pounding against the wooden floor behind him as they rounded the corner. They were almost safe—

He yanked open the front door and bolted outside into the cool night air, determined to get as far away from this nightmarish location as possible.

He made it as far as the street.

A crowd had gathered around the house—a crowd of terrified, confused neighbors. Sam skidded to a stop in front of them on the driveway's loose gravel.

They stared at him, and Sam stared right back, unsure of what to do. Behind him, the house groaned and creaked loudly as it continued to collapse.

Dean stopped right beside his brother. He critically studied the group of people with his eyes, trying to decide if they were demons or just…people.

"They're just people, Dean." Sam muttered softly.

Dean glanced at his brother and grinned softly, shaking his head. Sometimes he swore he and Sam were on the same wavelength…

"Oh…my…God!" a shrill voice shrieked. "You're alive! _You're alive! _Thank God!_" _

Dean turned slightly and saw Mrs. Fremont hurrying toward them. Her face was covered with soot, her clothes were torn, and there was a bloody gash across her forehead. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked as though sheer willpower was keeping her from passing out.

Ruby's mouth dropped open in genuine surprise. "Wait…you got out?"

She stopped in front of them, shaking uncontrollably. "You…Is it…I mean…It's _over_, right?" she questioned frantically, looking as though their answer would determine how long she could remain standing. "It has to be over…"

Her husband walked up beside her, carrying the little girl. "What happened?" he demanded.

Sam looked at him, and for a moment he considered telling the man everything. After all, He had a right to know that demons were a very real threat in the world—his own daughter had been possessed by one.

Sam realized that everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to speak. The silence pounded in his ears, broken only by the sounds of the collapsing house behind him. His eyes flicked to the little girl, her head resting on her father's shoulder, his arms wrapped protectively around her.

And Sam knew.

He could tell the family—and all their neighbors—everything that had happened. He could explain every gruesome fact with accurate detail and enlighten them with knowledge of the supernatural world.

And then what? What would that really accomplish?

That knowledge would shatter everything they thought they knew and fill their lives with constant fear and uncertainty.

Sam shook his head and looked back at the man. "It's over." He said simply. "That's all you need to know."

Mr. Fremont narrowed his eyes. "But—what _was_ all that?" he demanded, pointing a finger toward the ruined house. "Something happened in there—something I can't even begin to explain—"

"Then _don't_." Sam interrupted softly. "Don't explain it, don't even try. You don't need to." He paused, and then gave him a sympathetic smile. "I would tell you to forget everything you saw tonight…but I know you can't. All I'm telling you is that it's over and you don't have to worry about anything like this ever again."

The man shook his head. "How can you be so sure?"

Sam shrugged. "You just have to trust me."

The man stared at him, long and hard, as though analyzing whether Sam was telling the truth. "I…I believe you." He finally said, running a hand down his face. Sam nodded.

The faint wail of sirens broke through the silence.

"Finally...the police." Mr. Fremont sighed. "Better late than never, I guess."

Dean took that as their cue to leave and stepped forward slightly. "I'm glad you three made it out alright," he said, "We've got to go."

Mrs. Fremont nodded, wiping a few tears away from her eyes. "Thank you." She said sincerely, and without warning she stepped forward and pulled Dean into a tight hug. "You...you saved our daughter. Thank you…thank you _so much_!" she exclaimed, and then started sobbing uncontrollably into his jacket.

Dean blinked and then awkwardly accepted her hug. At a loss for what to do, he reached up and patted her on the back. "Yes, well…" he muttered uncomfortably.

Mr. Fremont reached behind him and pulled the Colt from his back pocket. He held it out to Sam. "This belongs to you."

"Thanks." Sam said, taking the gun from his outstretched hand.

The sirens were getting steadily louder. "Let's _go_." Ruby muttered urgently.

Sam nodded. He knew that it wouldn't be good if they were still there when the police arrived. "Goodbye." He said quietly, his eyes locked on Mr. Fremont**.** "Take care of your family." He said firmly. "Family's what matters."

He nodded. "I will."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Thank you for that touching sentiment, Sammy dearest." She said sarcastically. "I'm practically in tears. Quick, let's leave before I start crying." She began walking away, shaking her head.

Sam grinned and then followed her. The crowd of people parted slightly to let them through.

Ruby glanced back over her shoulder. "And for God's sake, Dean…she's married! Have some sense of decency, would you?"

Dean rolled his eyes and finally managed to detangle himself from the delicate and still crying Mrs. Fremont. Her husband instantly wrapped a comforting arm around her. "Will…will we e-ever see you all again?" the woman asked, wiping some tears from her face.

"I hope not." Dean said simply. He turned and followed the others.

The three of them walked away quickly, intent on putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the approaching police. Once they were under the cover of some trees they slowed down a little, the glow of Dean's flashlight the only light that they had to guide their way back to the car.

Sam finally let out a sigh of relief. They had done it—Dean was safe. His brother wasn't going to go to Hell. As that thought finally sunk in, the tension that had built up inside him over the past year trickled out. He glanced over at Dean and saw that his brother was already looking at him with a small smile on his face. "Looks like you did it, Sammy."

Ruby shook her head in exasperation. "Oh fine, give all the credit to Sam."

Dean's grin widened slightly. "Oh, I guess you did help a little—"

"Stop. Right. There." A voice commanded coldly.

Sam blinked in confusion and then turned slightly to his left—right into the barrel of a shotgun.

All three of them froze in place.

Sam felt Dean's hand clench tightly around his arm, but instead of thinking about how to get out of this situation, Sam found himself thinking about the voice—it was familiar. It was too dark for him to clearly make out the man's features, but Sam suddenly knew who it was.

"Uh…Bobby?" he said.

There was a small pause. "_Sam?_" the voice gasped. The shotgun lowered slightly and then snapped back up into place. "Wait…how do I know this isn't a trick?" he demanded suspiciously.

Sam opened his mouth to reply, but before he could Dean spoke up. "Point the damn gun somewhere else, Bobby. It's us."

There was an even longer pause. "…_Dean??_" the man stuttered. "But…but…how are you alive? There were demons everywhere, I couldn't get in—" he lowered the shotgun to his side. "And then the house collapsed…" he trailed off. "I thought both you boys were dead."

"Oh, you know us…" Dean said casually, "Takes a lot more than a demon army and some hellhounds to drag us down."

Sam glanced up at Bobby, suddenly realizing the issue that was nagging at the back of his brain. "Bobby…you're alive." He said slowly.

"Well, yeah." Bobby said. "Course I am."

"But…you _died_." Sam protested. "We found your body—"

"No." Dean said suddenly, piecing everything together. "_He_ didn't die. It was the _other_ Bobby that died…remember?"

"What?" Bobby said, confused.

Sam ran a hand over his face. "There were two…" he trailed off, mentally kicking himself for not remembering earlier. "How did we forget about that?"

Ruby shook her head and put her hands on her hips. "Probably because you're both clueless idiots." She said helpfully.

Bobby jumped at the sound of her voice. "Who the hell is that?" he demanded.

"Ruby." Sam and Dean said together in a monotone voice.

"What, you mean that demon chick? Why is she here?"

"Can't anyone _ever_ be happy to see me?" Ruby questioned, annoyed. "Is that seriously too much to ask?"

Sam sighed. "Bobby…we'd probably all be dead right now if it wasn't for her." He paused for a moment. When he continued, his voice was strained. "So you can _lower_ your _gun_…"

"Fine." Bobby said gruffly, lowering the shotgun again. "But I still don't like her."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I've changed my mind." She said, "I liked him better dead too."

"Tough." Dean said. "He's alive and you're not killing anyone."

"Let's just go find the cars and leave." Sam said. "Get as far away from here as possible."

Bobby shook his head. "Now hang on one second, you still haven't told me what happened." He protested. "What did I miss?"

Ruby snorted. "What _didn't_ you miss?"

"It's a long story, Bobby." Sam explained.

"Well, we've got time, right?" Bobby said. "Dean's not going to Hell anymore, is he?"

"Definitely not." Dean replied firmly. "No."

Bobby let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God…" he muttered. He paused for a moment and then pulled Sam and Dean into a tight hug. "Thank God."

Sam grinned and returned the hug, one arm around Bobby and the other around his brother. Dean sighed and hugged them both back tightly, too thankful that they had all survived to pull back.

A few moments of silence passed by.

Ruby let out a sigh and peered through the darkness. "You're all hugging again, aren't you?" She demanded disdainfully. "I swear, you guys hug more than a bunch of girls. It's disgusting."

Sam grinned wickedly and reached out an arm. "Ruby…do you feel left out?"

Ruby snorted, and the corners of her mouth turned slightly upward. "Don't even think about it."

Bobby released his hold on the boys and smiled. "I can't believe it's all over…" he said. "You are..._sure_…that it's over, right?"

"Yeah." Sam said. "The demons are gone. They'll never bother us again."

"Gone?" Bobby asked, confused. "Where did they go?"

Dean shook his head. "It's a really, really, _really_ long story Bobby. Trust me, I don't even understand half of what happened."

Bobby's eyes narrowed. "But—"

"We'll tell you everything, okay?" Dean assured him, "But…can we go somewhere else? You know, somewhere that isn't a dark forest? Somewhere that's far away from all the police that are looking for some explanation as to why a new house collapsed and lots of people are dead?"

Sam grinned. "Somewhere like a diner, you mean?"

Dean's smile widened. "Exactly!" he exclaimed. "See, Sammy understands me."

Ruby groaned. "You're all insane."

"Why don't you come with us, Ruby?" Sam asked. "Now that we're friends and all."

Ruby's eyebrows shot up. "We're not friends."

Sam laughed. "We're practically friends."

"No, we're not."

"You know you love us." Sam said. "We get along so well."

"No we don't!" she protested. "We argue constantly and you ignore everything I say."

"Look, are you coming or not?" He demanded with a smirk.

"If I do, will you shut up?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I'll go." She said reluctantly. "But absolutely none of that Metallica crap in the car, do you hear me?"

Dean snorted. "Metallica crap? I'm hurt, Ruby. I play nothing but the best. You need to—"

"I know, I know," Ruby interrupted, annoyed, "I need to learn to appreciate the damn classics. I _know_."

"Besides," Dean said, "Driver picks the music."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately…" he muttered with a smile, and then laughed when Dean reached over and smacked him upside the head.

Dean grinned. "So, Bobby, what do you say?"

Bobby chuckled. "We'll go somewhere so you can get some food, Dean…" he said, "But then you're all telling me what happened."

"Mmmm…pie…" Dean said dreamily, walking forward towards the cars. He heard Sam laugh behind him, and his grin widened.

It was so good to hear his brother laugh again.

**The End**

**And there you have it—the happy ending that Sam and Dean deserved. Even though I have no idea what's going to **_**actually**_** happen next season, hopefully I have succeeded in helping some of you feel slightly better about the horrifying end of Season 3. Thanks so much for reading!**

**PLEASE REVIEW and let me know your final thoughts! **

**Michelle Knight**


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